Nightprowlers Book 2: 21st Century Ninja
by INFJwriter
Summary: It's been one year since the Ninja had to flee to Chen's Island to escape their demise in the Black Dragon Agency's conquest. But just as they are beginning to make plans to take back the mainland, another problem breaks out. Two students disappear, prompting questions. Where did they go? Why were they taken? And who is their captor who only calls himself Agent I?
1. Introduction

**(A/N) Here it is everybody! Nightprowlers Part 2: 21st Century Ninja! Thank you to everyone who sent in OCs, followed, favorited, and PM messaged while I was working on this. Read away!**

* * *

Introduction

It was a cold and clear night. The waning crescent moon shone down on the quiet streets of New Ninjago City. A lone figure strode casually down the sidewalk. He wore a long brown trenchcoat with the collar up and a black fedora on his head to hide his face in shadow. Two tall men in uniforms consisting of black pants, black long-sleeved shirts, black boots, and dark sunglasses were holding large guns and patrolling the street ahead. One spotted the shady figure walking toward them and nudged his comrade with his weapon. They both began walking quickly toward the approaching pedestrian.

"Hey!" one shouted. "It's illegal to be out after curfew! We need to see your identification!" The figure in the trenchcoat, however, seemed completely unintimidated. He stopped and calmly pulled a badge out of his pocket. Once the two guards were close enough to see the badge, their eyes widened. They put away their guns. "So _you're_ Agent I," the one who had shouted said, his tone now much more quiet and respectful. "You're clear to pass. The Boss is waiting for you." With that, Agent I continued on his way.

Eventually, he came to the tallest building in Ninjago City, the former Borg Industries Tower. Now, it was the Black Dragon Agency Tower after the conquering force had seized the city one year ago. Unfortunately for the city, the Ninja hadn't been there to stop the Black Dragons. They had been forced into hiding after they had fled their monastery to escape their planned destruction by the Black Dragons.

The sliding doors opened up before the agent to admit him into the lobby. It was empty at this hour. Most of the lights were off. Agent I entered the elevator and pressed the button for the one hundredth floor. On the way up, he turned around and looked out the clear walls at the transformed city. It was still in progress, but the Black Dragons had decided to restore the capital to its former futuristic look that it had had a little more than twenty years ago, only this time it was going to be bigger, better, and smarter than ever before. The Black Dragons would renovate the country to its former glory and more.

The elevator doors opened, revealing the spacious office. Once occupied by Borg himself, it was now being used by none other than Vladomir Chovin, the head of the Black Dragon Agency. Borg, now Vladomir's puppet politician, presently worked on the ninety-ninth floor. Agent I stepped out, and the elevator doors slid shut behind him. He took in his surroundings. The numerous screens around the room now showed the status of all the agents and citizens under Black Dragon reign. The walls were now sleek black, and the floor was covered in red carpet. The lights were dimmed, except for the one shining over the desk like a spotlight. There was a rug in the center of the room in the shape of the Black Dragon crest: a dragon with its wings outspread, its head slightly turned to the left, and its tail curled around its intimidating form in a spiral. In its left claw was a spear, and in its right was a sceptre.

Suddenly the chair at the desk in the office turned around, revealing Vladomir himself. "Ah. Agent I." he said.

"Vladomir. It's been quite a while," Agent I responded. "I never got to congratulate you on your trickery the night the Ninja escaped. Sending someone in your own tank to the monastery was an ingenious way to avoid assassination."

"Well, I would be dead if it weren't for your warning. Come sit down."

Agent I sat down on the chair on the opposite side of the new dictator's desk and crossed his legs. Vladomir took a sip from his coffee mug and leaned back in his chair. "Now. How is your current mission going?"

"Well enough," Agent I responded. "I've managed to gain a lot of trust in my time there with the Ninja."

"Good. And they suspect nothing?"

"They have no clue. I'm under a different name in their presence."

"Excellent. And what are they currently doing?"

Agent I snorted with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Nothing. They're just camping out in hiding. No preparations for coming back one day to take back Ninjago. They just resumed teaching the next generation. Pretty out of the ordinary, if you ask me. It almost looks as if they're there to stay." He chuckled darkly. "Kinda funny, isn't it? One minute, they're heroes. The next, they're cowards."

"It truly is a shocker that they haven't tried to oust us by attacking us head-on."

"That'd be suicide. They may be reckless, but they're not stupid."

"Can you tell me where their hideout is?"

Agent I stopped. His client expected this much out of him in one review session? "I'm sorry, Vladomir," he sighed. "I'm afraid I'm not ready to divulge that intel yet."

Vladomir's eyebrows furrowed in anger. The air around them seemed to turn cold. He leaned forward over the desk and narrowed his eyes at Agent I. "What? Why?" He snapped. Their conversation had begun to turn sour.

"I'm a double agent, and you _know_ that. _I_ choose when I will tell you information, and no one can force me to say any more or less than what I tell you. While I am working for both sides, I am doing so in the way I see fit. We _will_ emerge victorious, but not today. I don't plan on revealing my identity anytime soon. I know what I'm doing. I've known it since the day I accepted this mission."

"When _will_ you tell me?"

Agent I chuckled again. "In due time, my impatient client, in due time. I can do my job how I please. It always works out. Remember, I saved you from going to the destruction of the Ninja's monastery yourself. The Nightprowlers would have surely killed you had you been there."

"You only told me that it would be dangerous for me to go. You didn't tell me _why_. And you only told me that the Ninja were escaping _after_ they had already escaped. Why?"

"I have my reasons. Which I don't feel like telling you yet."

"Agent I, remember that I am the one who hired you. _I_ am the one in charge here. It would be in you best interests to show some respect."

"Of course, Vladomir, of course." Agent I's smirk was concealed from Vladomir by the shadow of his hat.

They sat in cold silence for a while. Finally, Agent I stood up. "Well, Vladomir, since our conversation seems to have ended, I'll be leaving you now." He walked back across the room and pressed the down button for the elevator. The last thing Vladomir saw before the doors slid shut was Agent I taking a notepad out of his pocket. Vladomir could only think of one thing he could be doing: planning his next series of lies. He wondered how many he'd told today.

Vladomir knew that what he was doing was risky. Hiring a double agent to do your work was a dangerous game to play. And he knew that Agent I _loved_ playing dangerous games.

* * *

Once the elevator began to descend, Agent I thought about what to do next. He was playing on both sides of the board in this game of chess. For his next few moves, he'd need to plan out everything in advance. Phase one of his plan was completed a year ago. Now it was time for phase two. If everything went smoothly, there would be no way he could lose. Every move his little pawns, knights, castles, and bishops made would work in his favor. He'd capture one by one until they were absolutely helpless. He'd corner the king, make his final move, and then...

 _...checkmate._

* * *

 **(A/N) Wow, look at that. Just like in Neverender, the fic starts out with a villain scene. And a meeting between villains. And a conversation between Agent I and Vladomir. Hmm... is there a pattern here?**

 **Here's a few things you'll be seeing in this fic:**

 **\- All yall's submitted OCs**

 **\- More of Nightprowler's true personalities**

 **\- DrewxViolet**

 **\- REAL SCIENCE (you'll see what I mean later on)**

 **\- Kidnapping crisis**

 **-** _ **There's a spyyyyyyyy in the aliiiiiiiiiaance...No you won't see 'em comin' but they're comin' for you...**_ **No, I'm serious, there's a spy. Remember that prophesy Nya heard from the FSM statue in Part 1: Neverender? Yup, it's coming back...**

 **\- More of Agent I**

 **\- Return of a canon plot twist**

 **\- And more!**

 **Again, thank you so much to the people who followed and favorited me and my fics, as well as to the people who PMed me or sent in OCs! Review please! And please vote on my poll about which of my main OCs I should write a story about!**


	2. The Island

**(A/N) Oh my gosh. I got SIX REVIEWS ON ONE CHAPTER. That's one less review for last chapter than I did for the entirety of Nightprowlers Part 1: Neverender (not the rewrite)! Thank you all! I know, this is a crappy chapter title, but I couldn't think of anything better. This one's about what's going on with the Ninja ever since they escaped one year ago. But don't worry! There's an Agent I appearance at the end!**

 **One more thing: it's OC time! This chapter, we have Tylor Stone, Kadian Bridgestone, and Maihreen Cross, all of whom belong to Kairocksrainbow; Ranci Azel Prower, belonging to MowsTrap; Neil Causer, who belongs to Wandering Cat; Zorane Julien, who belongs to TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning; Reena Johnson, who belongs to ebony umbreon; James Jackson, who belongs to Lucifer's Descendent. Thank you all for submitting your OCs! And to those who don't see their OCs on this list, not to worry! I have a clear plan for all of them!**

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Chapter 1

The Island

The waves lapped against the island shore, its sands shining in the sun. The gentle breeze spread the scent of ocean water across the beach of Chen's Island. A young boy picked up a small spiral seashell. Immediately the wheels in his head began to turn. He thought of the logarithmic spiral, the pattern seen throughout all of nature - that is, if you have the eye to see it.

The boy inspected the shell, plopping himself down on the sand. His slightly wavy blonde hair rustled in the salty breeze while his curious hazel eyes took in every detail of the little shell in his palm. It was perfect, unbroken, having not even a single scratch on it. It almost blended in with his fair skin. He held it up to the light, forming a spiral shaped eclipse in front of the sun. Lex Garmadon had always had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, a trait his father often said was inherited from Lex's late mother, Heather. Lex never knew her. She died shortly after he was born.

Lex reflected on the year that had passed since the Ninja had moved to Chen's Island. Team Nightprowler had gotten to know their families better, as well as adjusted to the new environment. Having never been able to have children of their own, Senseis Jay and Nya had adopted Reed and Emma. Sensei Cole had offered to adopt Nick, but the seventeen-year-old (now eighteen) had refused, saying that he was nearly an adult, and he preferred being independent anyway.

Back at the mainland though, things were looking more glum. Scout teams regularly traveled in secret back to Ninjago to get supplies from old contacts of the Ninja, mainly from old elemental masters that remained loyal to the Ninja, but smuggling supplies wasn't their only job. Scouts also would come back with news and intelligence of what was going on. The situation over there only got worse with every new report. The people were being terrorized by their own government. There were stories of people going into restricted zones and never coming out. There were tales of bombings and shootings. They were even starting to rebuild Ninjago City to resemble the technologically advanced New Ninjago City that the Overlord virus had taken over. Sensei Zane had been very upset when that report came in. He didn't like the idea that the city was becoming the same place whose technological flaws had lead to him having to sacrifice his old body. He didn't come out of his room for three days, not even for teaching his meditation classes.

Team Nightprowler had once been a part of the Black Dragon Agency, until Drew had managed to turn Emma, Reed, and Nick good. Now, they were ninja. Lex, Drew, Reed, Emma, and Nick had already proven themselves by turning away from darkness and preserving the way of the Ninja by saving them and all their students from an attack that was being launched by the Black Dragons with the purpose of destroying every last piece of their memory in Ninjago. Ever since then, they had been hiding on the island, waiting for the right time to return...

* * *

Drew was helping Violet prepare for the return of the scout team. They had to clean the place until it was "spotless" as Sensei Lloyd had put it. Personally, Drew thought he should have been on the scout team. He had a bunch of experience with the stuff that they went through on their missions. They had been gone for four days now, and everyone was acting like it was such a big deal that they were supposed to be back two days ago. Drew thought that was absurd. Team Nightprowler had been on some missions for the Black Dragons where they had to wait for _weeks_ to return due to the occasional run-in with the authorities. Nobody ever made this big of a deal about it when _they_ returned from _their_ missions.

"What's the big deal about all this?" he huffed, his amber eyes filled with fire. "Why do we have to clean up for a scout team?"

"I think it's just my dad giving us chores again," Violet answered, dusting an ornate blue vase.

"But why did he say it was for the scout team?" Drew continued, trying to scrub a mark off of a table. "It's just a scout team. There's nothing special about it."

Violet sighed. She put down the vase and turned to Drew. Her emerald eyes saw straight through him. "This is about Ivan, isn't it?"

"No, it's not!"

"Don't lie, Drew. You're jealous that you didn't get to go and he did."

Drew gave in. "The guy's a jerk! A snake! And he's always hypnotizing people with his so-called 'charm'."

"Drew, I'm not like the crazy girls on this island who think he's 'dreamy' or anything like that. Sure, I admit he's not bad-looking, but I have no interest in him."

"I've seen the way he looks at you. He's after you, I know it."

"Drew, everyone knows that you and I have been an item for the past six months."

Drew couldn't argue with her on that one. Once it got out that the two best fighters in the entire academy had officially become a couple, the word spread like wildfire amongst the students. Some kids had even come up with a ship name for them: Darkflame, because Violet's power was dark energy and Drew's was fire. Lloyd had been a little bit protective of his daughter at first, but after he made Drew solemnly swear to never, ever, ever, _ever_ hurt Violet, the Sensei allowed the relationship to continue.

When Drew still looked unsatisfied, Violet gave him a peck on the cheek. He reacted by grabbing her by the waist and pulling her into a real kiss on the lips. She ran her fingers through his brick-red hair spikes, and he played with her black ponytail. When they ran out of air, they broke apart and Violet said, "Now, enough with your ranting about Ivan. Help me with this dusty window."

* * *

Reed took a deep breath as he stared at the training course set up in the arena where Senseis Jay and Cole were forced to fight each other more than twenty years ago. Since then, it had been turned into a training course for younger fighters. Reed, being "challenged" in fighting skills, was not in the combat classes with kids his age. Instead, he was being privately taught by his adoptive father Sensei Jay, since they shared the same element, lightning. So far, however, he was having no more luck than he would be if he had been in the normal curriculum.

No matter how many times Reed tried, he just couldn't pass the course. He'd made no progress in the last ten weeks. He was beginning to lose hope in himself. Jay, though, didn't seem to want to give up on him, no matter how much he sucked.

"Remember, Reed, you must focus," his adoptive father advised him.

"I can't. I'm no good at this," Reed groaned.

Jay shook his head. "You don't know that. You've never tried to fight."

"Yes I have! At the Black Dragon Training Academy, I never was good at fighting lessons, so they let me drop out and take extra courses in technology. I'm good at that. Why can't I stick with that?"

Just then Jay's face lit up. He clapped and rubbed his hands together. That always meant he had either had an idea, or he'd found out that the scouts had managed to get their hands on the latest Fritz Donnagan comic book. "I've got it!" he declared with a grin.

"Got what?"

"I know what your problem is! You've convinced yourself that you're not good at this. So you don't try. You give up on things you have to do in favor of things you want to do."

"And how do I fix that?"

"If you can't change your circumstances, change your mind. Focus only on what you do right. You'll become more optimistic about fighting if you do. Now, again. This time, don't focus on what you can't do. Focus on what you can do, and build your way up. Positive thinking is a powerful thing indeed."

Reed closed his eyes. What _could_ he do well other than working with technology and computers? Nothing really. Jay just didn't get it. Reed couldn't fight.

Wait a minute.

What if there was another way? What if he didn't have to _fight_ the course like everyone else did? Not being good at fighting was just another way to say that he was good at not fighting, right? What was that one fighting style - the Slicing Fist? No, Silent Fist! What if he did that instead of fruitlessly flailing his throwing stars and missing his target by a mile? He decided to try it.

Reed's eyes snapped open. He ran at the course, but instead of fighting his way through it, he dodged his way through. He weaved through tight spaces, dashed across the planks, started to approach the halfway point-

BANG.

Reed's face came in contact with the flat side of one of the wooden axes. He fell backwards onto the tile. He closed his eyes. Great. Just great. Failure again. He was never going to move up-

"Good job!" Reed opened his eyes to see Jay standing over him with a grin on his face. "You're making progress! And way to think outside the box with applying the Silent Fist."

"But I didn't finish it!" Reed fretted, sitting up. Jay held out his hand and helped Reed up.

"Finishing it takes a lot of practice. You'll get it. Remember what I said? Focus on what you can do, not what you can't do."

* * *

Lately, Emma had been having strange nightmares.

They were the same every time, and they all woke her up in the middle of the night with the same feeling of dread that something bad was going to happen. After about a month of this she had consulted Sensei Lloyd about it, and he had told her to talk to Sensei Zane. She was a little nervous, because she had never been to his office before.

Emma knocked on the door to the nindroid's office. "Enter," a robotic voice called from within.

When Emma opened the door, she was met with a surprise. The room was almost completely bare. There was a small wooden desk and chair in the far right of the room, and some comfortable-looking cushions sat on the far left next to the door to the balcony. The plain white walls were bare except for a small photo frame hanging on the wall depicting an old man, a much more human-looking Zane, and a black falcon. She found the Master of Ice himself meditating on a cushion. "I'm sorry, Sensei," she apologized. "Did I interrupt you?"

"Not at all. Come and sit." He gestured to a cushion opposite him. Once Emma had sat down, he spoke. "How may I help you?"

"Lately, I've been having nightmares. Every night it's the same one, and it gets more and more vivid each time."

"Describe it to me."

Emma closed her eyes and brought back the images from those restless nights. She began to tell it.

"I'm small, and I'm on a chessboard. All the pieces are on different places on the board. I look up. Oddly enough, there is only one person playing the game. He has no opponent."

"Do you know who it is?" Zane asked.

"No," Emma responded, "but he was wearing a brown trenchcoat and a fedora. His face was concealed in shadow, so I couldn't see it. Anyway, the lone player reaches over to a black bishop, and begins to move it toward a white pawn. When it gets there, the player takes the pawn and puts it inside his or her coat. Then the bishop moves toward me, and when it gets to me, the player grabs me. I start to scream... and then I wake up, gasping for breath." Emma shivered as she finished her tale.

Zane closed his glowing eyes for a long time. Finally, he opened them to reveal his answer. "After careful analysis of your dream, Emma, I have come to a conclusion."

"You have?"

"Yes. You are gifted with the sixth sense."

Emma sat there in stunned silence. Sixth sense? Her?

"Sensei Zane, I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"It is hard to explain, but to put it simply, sixth sense is the ability to look into the beyond and comprehend certain signs and signals that are missed by most people. To be gifted with sixth sense is a truly rare gift, but it is more common in masters of ice than in others. If you train yourself to control it, as I have, it can give you a glimpse into the future, the past, and even allow you to see something presently happening in a different place."

"But does that mean that my nightmare will come true?!"

"Your gift has just begun to reveal itself within you. The visions and dreams you are receiving now should not be taken literally. They could be symbolic, or perhaps they are just manifestations of your unconscious mind assembling themselves into dreams and visions. I would not trust them quite yet. However, do not ignore them. Keep a record of them, just in case. Train yourself harder, and this new power of yours will develop. As for the meaning of your dream, it is hard to decipher, since your sixth sense is still developing itself. However, I can tell you that there is one thing certain. Your dream is likely foretelling the emergence of a threat of some sort. It would be wise to keep your eye out. I will tell the other Senseis about your dream."

"Thank you, Sensei." Emma bowed, and left the office, unable to shake off the feeling that the threat Sensei Zane mentioned would reveal itself soon.

* * *

From the rooftops of the palace, Nick scouted the waves through a telescope, searching for any signs of the scout team's ferry. He'd been looking for hours after being stationed here by Sensei Cole to keep a lookout. So far, there had been no luck.

 _Wait!_

On the horizon appeared a small dot that kept getting bigger and bigger. Nick blew the horn that signaled the return of a scout team's boat, then jumped from roof to roof, sliding down the slopes and columns with agility until he came to a low enough height that he could safely jump to the ground. When he finally got to the docks, the boat had been tied on and the passengers were climbing out onto the dock. This month's scouts were an odd choice, in Nick's opinion, but if Sensei Lloyd thought they were good enough, well, it wasn't Nick's job to judge. He quickly identified each one: Tylor Stone, Kadian Bridgestone, Maihreen Cross, Ranci Prower, Zorane Julien, Neil Causer, Reena Johnson, and James Jackson. Good, they were all accounted for, except for Ivan. They gathered in front of Nick and saluted him. All of them wore the same black gis, but each had a different tiny symbol on the right arm and different colored masks that covered the lower halves of their faces.

"Cross. Have you acquired any information?" Nick asked Maihreen. He always addressed them by their last names, if they were people he didn't know well.

"The place is crawling with agents," Maihreen told him apologetically. She removed her yellow mask and shook out her blonde and black hair. "We picked up some supplies at Stixx from Ronin, but not without paying way more than it was worth. We couldn't get very far into Ninjago City, so we didn't end up with any info. Well, except for Ivan's findings."

"Well, that's to be expected, now, isn't it, Cross? After all, he is our spy. He can get through Ninjago City without getting stopped once... Speaking of which, where is Ivan?" Nick called Ivan by his first name because he happened to be on relatively good terms with him, however pompous he might be.

"Still below deck, filling out his log," Ray replied.

"No, I'm coming!" a confident voice promised. Sure enough, a fairly handsome, tall, oil-black haired, brown eyed teen strode toward them from the direction of the ferry. He took off his dark grey mask to reveal an award-winning smile. He ran his fingers through his short hair. "What did I miss, Nick?"

"Nothing much. Just a brief talk about what was accomplished. I hear you might have some information?"

"Yes, but not much. Mainly, they're just rebuilding the city. There are street patrols though, and I almost got spotted. I _did_ find out that there had been a mass shooting of enemies of the regime two days ago. I'm sorry to say I didn't get more info."

"You did what you could, Ivan."

"Enough chit chat, I'm hungry," Neil complained.

"There's food inside, Causer," Nick assured him, though not without one of his disapproving squints. "Now, let's go. After lunch it'll be time for fifth period, which, of course, for you all will mean Sensei Kai's combat class." Nick heard Tylor groan quietly. Nick rolled his eyes. So unprofessional.

* * *

Agent I was stumped. It was time to make his first move. What should he do? He had to take someone out, but he'd have to be strategic about who it was. Who was the greatest threat to his plot? Someone smart, someone who thinks logically, someone who, given time, could somehow sniff him out.

And he couldn't kill the victim. No, any smart person knew that knowing a loved one was dead is better than not knowing anything at all. He needed a real scare, a kidnapping.

But who to capture? And how? These were ninja, after all. He'd have to be quick about it, and no one else could be around. But who to take, who to take? Who was often alone, smart enough to find him, and whose disappearance was significant enough to cause a scare in the establishment?

Then it came to him. Agent I grinned. He knew _exactly_ who to take.

 **(A/N) Ooooooooooooh, who is Agent I going to take? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out! Chapter 2 is when the real story kicks off! Any guesses as to who Agent I is going to kidnap? Review and tell me! Constructive criticism is welcome! And be sure to check out my poll!**


	3. Hiatus Notification

**(A/N) Hey everybody! It's me, INFJwriter! I have some bad news: unfortunately, I am having to put Nightprowlers Part 2: 21st Century Ninja on hold for now. This is mostly because I don't even have chapters 2, 3, 4, or 5 even started, but also because it's getting close to finals and AP exams. I have to take a break, unfortunately. You may see me in a review or two, but I won't be updating much. I'm very sorry. I can't believe how many reviews I have already gotten for this fic (I even got a nickname: INFJ!), and I really don't want to put out a disappointing chapter. So that this doesn't break the rules, here's an exclusive look at an old chapter from the concept writing for Nightprowlers! This was from when I had planned five books instead of three parts. Read away!**

* * *

Chapter 8

Battle Between Souls

Reed bolted across the meadow toward the monastery, which was now overshadowed by thick, rumbling, purple clouds. They flashed threateningly, but Reed kept going. He knew that something much scarier than the sky was waiting inside the building. He could hear Drew calling after him, trying to get him to stop.

"Reed! REED!" he yelled, trying to be heard over the storm. Reed kept running. He didn't have the time to talk things over.

"Reed!" Drew finally caught him by the arm, bringing him to a halt. Reed tried to pull his arm free, but his friend had an iron grip on him. "Reed, listen to me. LISTEN TO ME! You can't help her. There isn't enough golden serum to cure her. By now Gretta's probably already-"

"You think I don't _know_ the serum is no good?" Reed shouted. "You think I don't _know_ what state she's in? I'm her _brother!_ If anyone should know these things, it's me!" The two boys were now in a game of tug-of-war with Reed's arm. It was hard for them to dig their heels into the ground, though, because the torrenting rain had turned it all into mud.

"How are you going to stand up to her?" Drew argued. "Remember what Lloyd said? At this point, without golden power, all efforts to save Gretta are pointless!"

" _Are you telling me you've given up?!_ Whatever happened to 'Ninja never quit?'" Reed raged.

Then something very strange happened.

First, Reed felt his heart rate speed up. Then his veins started tingling. A surge from deep inside him shot through his arm all the way to his fingertips. With a yelp of pain, Drew jumped back, clutching his hand. But Reed didn't stop to think about what had just happened. He was gone before Drew even hit the ground.

* * *

 **"I've won."**

* * *

As soon as Reed got inside, the wind blew the doors shut with a bang that echoed through the hall. That is, what _used_ to be a hall. Reed stared with his mouth open at the destruction before him. The wind whistled through the broken windows, making the whole place freezing. The canvases of the paintings on the wall were torn and peeling, and the frames hung crookedly. Holes wider than doorways had been smashed through the walls between rooms. Long, deep claw marks were all over the floor, walls, and furniture. Debris from the destroyed entry hall was scattered everywhere. It was like a scene from a horror movie.

There was a bump from somewhere upstairs. Reed couldn't help feeling a little bit scared. He crept down the hall toward the stairs and began to climb. They creaked under his weight. It felt like forever until he finally reached the top. What he saw when he arrived made his face as white as a sheet.

His sister's body was lying on the ground, unmoving. Or was it his sister? She looked very different than before. She had a much thinner build. She had dirty blonde hair, and freckles on her pale face. The worst part was that she was quite visibly translucent. Reed would have rushed to her aid were she not being guarded by the most hideous sight he had ever seen.

It was a monster, the likes of which he had never seen. It was all black, and had long, pointy spines all along its back, a scaly body, three thick claws which could rip through the skin on each of its four feet, and a tail like a dragon. It turned its head around to meet him, revealing a face like a wolf, with a mouth bearing sharp teeth dripping with saliva. It flashed its red, cat-like eyes at him, stood up on its hind legs, and cackled like a hyena.

 **"So you've come to save your pathetic sister?"** the beast sneered. **"You are too late! I have already taken over her body and cast out her good soul! She was no match for me! See her poor, tired soul lying here before you. Now I, Gretta, have complete control! Emma is no more! Give up or die!"**

"A ninja never quits!" Reed yelled back.

The creature cackled again. **"Oh well. I have no problem killing you. But I'll have you know that I'm quite fond of playing with my food before I eat it."**

With that, the creature suddenly disappeared into the shadows. Reed knew there was no getting out of here alive. But this animal was not going to take him down without a fight. _And I'll give her a damn good fight at that,_ Reed vowed. He took out his throwing stars and got into fighting stance. A cackle echoed in the shadows. Reed readied himself. Suddenly he felt a claw scrape down his eye. He yelped in pain. The cackling grew louder.

 **"What's wrong, boy? Not strong enough? Or perhaps not** _ **fast**_ **enough?"** Something charged at Reed and bowled him over. The creature circled back and snapped at his heels before disappearing into the shadows again. Reed touched his face. It was streaked with blood from the scrape. He could feel it going straight down from just above his eyebrow to halfway down his cheek. He shakily got up on his feet again.

"I may not be the strongest or the fastest, but I'm not going to give up!" he shouted into the shadows.

 **"Even now that you know you will die here?"**

"That's right! And I'm not afraid either!"

 **"Fine then. I can't have fun with something that refuses to show fear. Any last words before you die, child?"**

 _"He will not die today, Gretta!"_

Reed gaped in awe at what looked like an angel. She was the same figure that had just been lying on the ground, but now she was wearing a white dress and practically shone. She wielded a white sword that seemed to be made of ice. She stood over Reed like a guardian. Emma's good soul had awoken.

 **"So it is once again a battle between the two of us?"** the monster hissed. **"I would have thought you would have given up, being the angel on an assasin's shoulder. She never listened to you!"**

 _"Emma was never meant to be evil, and you know it!"_ the good soul shot back. _"She has been plagued with having to listen to two voices in her head for too long! End your possession of her before I am forced to slay you!"_

 **"NEVER!"**

 _"Fine then! You shall pay the price for your crimes!"_

The two souls ran at each other and engaged in battle, Emma using her ice sword and Gretta using her bare claws. As they fought, it became clear that they were both aiming to kill.

 **"What will happen to your little brother once you're dead?"** Gretta sneered.

 _"You will not hurt him! And you have been in that body for too long! Goodbye, Gretta!"_ Emma shouted. Ice shot out of the sword, and the monster was caught in a raging flurry of the element. Black smoke billowed out behind the beast as it roared in pain. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, it screamed in agony, and a black smoky mass flew into the air and out the window, where it exploded in the sky.

The body morphed into a human form and fell to the floor, lifeless. The good soul flew toward it and settled down into it. After a moment, there was a blinding flash of light, and the body stirred. It slowly raised itself up, and the moment Reed saw the face, he knew it was his sister.

"Emma!" he cried, rushing toward her. Emma looked up and beamed at him. As he tackled her in a hug, they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Sensei Lloyd and Drew arrived at the top of the staircase and stared at the siblings in shock.

"By the grace of the First Spinjitzu Master..." Sensei Lloyd managed to whisper. "She's completely healed."

"But I thought only golden power could erase the venom," Drew expressed.

"Actually, I don't think it was golden power alone that took down the Overlord," Reed told him. "Power is strong, but love is stronger. It was only with the love Lloyd had for his father that he was able to defeat the Overlord the first time and free his father. Without love to counter the hate of the Overlord, he could not be defeated. That's why I came here. I knew that there was another way besides the golden serum to get her back."

"Well, that's all well and good, but you know what?" Sensei Lloyd interrupted. "This place is a mess! So let's start cleaning, everyone!"

"Uhh, Sensei? Did you notice I have a _little_ problem with my face?" Reed pointed out.

For some reason, it appeared Sensei Lloyd hadn't noticed Reed's face injury yet. He gave Drew permission to help his friend get cleaned up. When they were in the bathroom and out of earshot, Drew helped Reed clean his face while the two talked about confidential matters.

"So we've finally gotten Emma on our side," Reed murmured excitedly while dabbing his face with a wet cloth. "That's good. Now all we have to do is get Mark on the team, and we're all set!"

"Dude, are you _kidding?!"_ Drew hissed, getting out the gauze. "You can kiss that optimistic voice goodbye. Persuading Mark that the Black Dragons are evil will make Emma's case look like a walk in the park."

* * *

 **(A/N) So, I personally like this one because it's especially epic. I really wanted it to happen. The problem is it no longer fits in the outline anymore because this is no longer the five-book story it was going to be. Though the book this one was going to be in would have been** _ **awesome**_ **. The bolded words were the bad soul speaking and the italicized words were the good soul. There was going to be a whole struggle between the good and bad souls in this book, but since the book never happened, neither did the struggle. :(**

 **Feel free to send any and all questions to me! And tell me what you think in the reviews! Sorry I have to take a break, but I will be back!**

 **\- INFJ**


	4. A Mystery

**(A/N) I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! Finals? DONE! AP tests? DONE! School? DONE DONE DONE!**

 **Wow! I got a lot of good guesses last chapter! But only one was right! Now you'll get to find out who it was! Read away!**

* * *

Chapter 2

A Mystery

The sky darkened, rumbled, and flashed. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped. The trees in the rainforest began to sway, branches creaking and leaves rustling loudly. A storm was approaching, but two people were still outside. Reed and Emma were working on the electrical systems. A mass blackout had fallen over the entire island, which was really bad news. That meant no lights, no cloaking on the island, no security system, nothing. If a ship were to pass their way, they would be in plain sight, unable to defend themselves. So now Reed and his sister were out here trying to fix it. Reed looked up at the sky. Those clouds were looking pretty angry. He switched his upgraded super-glasses to flashlight mode. Little lights on the sides of the lenses turned on. He opened up a panel in the wall and shined the beams at the exposed wires. He'd have to work quickly, so they could be finished before the storm came in.

 _That's weird,_ he thought. Someone had completely switched all the wiring in an impossible way. How did they do that? No wonder the power had gone out, the generator was completely disconnected and the current was broken. Who in Ninjago did that? Well, that didn't really matter at the moment, as long as he was able to fix it. He'd worry about finding the doofus who'd done this later.

"Needlenose pliers, sis, and some tape and wire cutters," Reed grunted, holding his hand out to his sister. Emma shined a flashlight in the toolbox she was carrying and fished out the items he had called for. She placed them in his open hand and he set to work.

* * *

Agent I slinked through the hallways, silent as a shadow. His target was just ahead. After he'd caused the blackout, he had set to work hunting down the one who he'd decided to take captive. Considering who it was, there wouldn't be that much of a fight. With Agent I's abilities, this person's attempts to get away would be fruitless. He smiled. This was going to be _all_ too easy.

* * *

The teachers had taken all the kids to the dining hall to keep track of them all after the blackout happened. Drew and his father were lighting candles around the room.

"Everyone stay calm!" Nya tried to console the younger children, who were shaking in fear. The older students were actually more excited than scared, and were huddled up in groups discussing what could have caused the blackout. Cole and Nick were checking off names on the list to make sure everyone was here. Right now, however, it was quite difficult since no one was really listening and there was too much noise to hear anything.

"Hailey Rangston!" Cole called out. No response. He tried again, louder this time. "Hailey Rangston!"

"They can't hear you, Sensei Cole," Nick explained irritatedly. Disorder and chaos always put him in a bad mood. He had reached the end of his rope now. "Don't worry, I'll take care of this." Before Cole could stop him, Nick took a deep breath, called upon his inner drill seargent, and...

 ** _"QUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!"_ ** he boomed. All eyes snapped to him. "Thank you. We are trying to make sure everyone is here and that no one is lost in the hallways. We can't do that if you all aren't listening! Now, Hailey Rangston!"

"Here!" shouted a girl with long brown hair and a slight accent wearing a grey gi.

"Ray Walker!"

"Here!" a girl with long black hair in a ponytail wearing a pastel blue gi answered.

"Melody Walker!"

"Here!" a younger version of Ray in a light pink gi answered.

"Kadian Bridgestone!"

"Here!" called a teen boy with choppy golden-blonde hair and light tan skin in an aqua gi.

"Minako Ohnaku!"

"Here!" a small girl with white hair in a light blue gi squeeked.

"Una Kattana!"

"Here!" a girl with super-short brown hair wearing a light blue and black gi declared.

"Ashley Kattana!"

"Here!" called a girl with shoulder-length brown hair in a black and pink gi.

"Zorane Julien!"

"Here!" a teen with platinum-blonde, slicked-back hair in a cyan gi responded.

"Lex Garmadon!"

Nothing. That wasn't a surprise. Lex didn't talk much. Nick tried something else.

"Lex, if you are here, raise your hand." But no hand went up. Something was wrong. "Has anyone seen Lex? Anyone at all?" No answer. The students began to murmer amongst themselves. _Where is he?_ Nick thought.

* * *

Lex held up the small flashlight. It didn't have a very strong beam, so he couldn't see too far ahead of him. He had been here in his room, writing numbers on the wall, when the power suddenly went out. Now he was on the floor, alone and a little bit afraid. He had no idea where everyone else was, so he had no idea what to do. Should he go look for them? Maybe, but who knew what was lurking out there in the dark?

Suddenly the door to his room slid open. Lex whirled around and shined his flashlight at the doorway. There was a tall figure there, wearing a long trenchcoat and a fedora. He took a step inside the room. "Hello, _little boy,"_ the figure said in a slick voice. Lex couldn't see his face, but he imagined this stranger grinning evilly at him. Lex crawled backwards across the floor, his eyes filled with fright.

"Don't worry, Lex. I'm not going to hurt you. We're just taking a little _trip."_ Lex stood up and continued to back up until he hit the door to the balcony. It opened, and he stepped outside. The wind howled around him and the stranger, and the rain began to fall hard. Thunder and lightning rumbled and lit up the sky. A flying leaf smacked into Lex's cheek. Eventually his back hit the railing. He looked down and gulped. It was a long drop. He didn't need to do any calculations to know he probably wouldn't survive the fall.

The stranger grabbed Lex. The flashlight left his hand. Lex tried to throw him off, but this person was very strong. Then he started to change. His trenchcoat disappeared to reveal black scales. Wings began to sprout from his back. Lex winced as the nails enlongated into claws and sharpened against his skin, drawing blood. The young victim knew there was only one thing he could do now. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he let out a scream, piercing the cold air.

* * *

"Okay! Done!" Reed declared triumphantly, closing the panel. He looked toward the palace. Lights began to show up in windows. He and Emma high-fived. Then they heard it. A scream, a pleading cry, rang out through the storm. They looked toward the balconies, and a large creature with wings shot through the air high above from one of the upper levels. It was carrying something - or some _one_. The creature let out a screech, and disappeared into the clouds. "Woah!" Reed yelled. "Would somebody please explain _what the heck was that?"_

"No clue," Emma breathed. "Let's get inside. We need to tell Sensei Lloyd!"

* * *

Drew sat with his face in his hands outside the council room with his teammates and Violet. How could he have let this happen? If only he'd been there, he could have toasted that kidnapper to a crisp. He recalled the day he'd been put in charge of Lex. They were in that cell in the Black Dragon Island prison complex. Heather had been lying on the bed with little Lex in her weak arms. She had been slowly wasting away for the past few weeks, and Drew could tell she could no longer hold on.

 _"Drew, come close," Heather whispered._

 _Drew obeyed. "What is it, Mrs. Garmadon?"_

 _"Drew, I am very close to death. I know you're young, but I need you to do something for me."_

 _"W-what is it?"_

 _"Take care of Lex."_

 _"What?!" Drew cried. "But I don't know anything about babies!"_

 _"I know that, and I'm sorry, but if you don't take him, then the Black Dragons will kill him. Teach my baby the way of the ninja. Don't let the Black Dragons raise him to be evil."_

 _"I promise I won't let them."_

 _"And...make sure...he sees his father...one day,"_

That had been Heather's dying wish to him. Drew had promised he'd look after the kid. He'd _promised_. And now the poor little guy had been taken away. Some guardian he was.

Just then, his mother slid open the door to the council room. Drew, Emma, Reed, Nick, and Violet looked up. "We're ready for you," Skylor stated, and she went back in, leaving the door open. The students stood up and followed her in.

The council room was the old throne room in the palace, where Chen had welcomed his guests to the Tournament of Elements more than twenty years before. The decor was much different now; they had taken time to redo it over the past two years that they had been hiding here. Paper lanterns of various colors and shapes were strung from the ceiling to light up the room. Banners hung from the cieling, each one a different color and with a symbol representing each elemental power stitched into it. Seven of the banners were larger, and were spaced evenly around the circumfrence of the room. Each one represented the element of each of the Senseis: Fire was red with gold detailing, Water was maroon with light blue detailing, Ice was white with gold, Lightning was blue with silver, Earth was black with silver, Amber was orange with mahogany. But the largest banner was green with a golden dragon stitched on it - the banner for Energy. In front of each of these banners was a chair for the Sensei with that element, each unique in its design. All of the Senseis were sitting in their chairs looking grim.

Team Nightprowler and Violet stood in the center of the room. There was a short silence before Lloyd stood up to speak. "We are here to discuss what happened to my son, Lex Garmadon, at the time of the blackout. You six students are here to tell us everything you know."

"With all due respect, Sensei Lloyd," Reed began cautiously, "I think the only ones of us who know anything are Emma and myself."

"But the others still know his habits, strengths, and weaknesses," Sensei Nya insisted. "Tell us all you know."

"Lex is more capable than he looks," Nick explained. "He may be small, but he can still defend himself pretty well."

"Then how did he get kidnapped?" Sensei Skylor asked.

"The only explaination is that the kidnapper was stronger than he could handle," Drew postulated. He recalled Violet telling him that Lex had once thrown her father off of him when the Head Sensei had made the mistake of trying to touch him. If this kidnapper could overpower a kid who had done that, he'd have to be _really_ powerful.

"Reed, Emma. Tell us what you saw back there." Jay asked.

"Well," Emma began. "We were fixing the blackout problem, and had just succeeded, when out of the upper balconies there came this... _thing_... that flew away carrying someone."

"After we realized Lex was missing from the dining hall, we knew we had to find him," Nick told the teachers. "We ran upstairs to his room, and we found the doors to the balcony wide open to the storm. Lex was gone, but we found a small flashlight, still on, lying on the ground, along with a small folded piece of paper."

"Do you have it?" Lloyd asked hopefully.

"Yes, but-"

"Can you read it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's written entirely in code," Drew explained sorrowfully. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and gave it to Lloyd. Drew had tried to make sense of it earlier, but it was written in a series of symbols. "I'm sorry Sensei," he apologized. "I tried to decode it, but Lex was the codecracker when we were in the agency, not me."

Sensei Lloyd studied the symbols for a moment. "Zane, can you read this?" he asked, and he passed it to the nindroid. Sensei Zane only had to look at it for a few seconds.

"These are ancient runes," he said. "Specifically, they seem to be Draconian runes, which was the language that societies of criminals typically used in their secret messages during the Dark Ages."

"Strange. You think this person could be involved with the Black Dragons?" Sensei Lloyd asked.

"It would be most unfortunate if he were. We did not know of any Black Dragon agents here."

"There shouldn't be!" Sensei Kai exclaimed. "No one should know that we're here except for us and our contacts on the mainland. And they are sworn to secrecy on their lives."

"Could there be a spy?" Cole asked. "Could there be someone on the island who is a traitor?"

"If so, then we are all in danger," Lloyd said, shaking his head. "This is a mystery that must be solved as quickly as possible. My son's life could be on the line, as well as the lives of everyone else here. This is a mission we cannot fail."

* * *

Agent I finished locking up the little green pest. His last move had been successful. He'd captured the green pawn before he'd figured out who he was. Now he had to figure out who was next. The knight? The queen? The bishop? The castle? He decided to consult his chessboard. He entered a dark room where there stood a table lit up by a spotlight from the cieling. On it was a chessboard, and the pieces were scattered across the black and white squares. He sat down at the single chair and studied the chessmen carefully. He moved a few pieces, shook his head, and moved them back into place. He did this several different times in several different ways, searching, searching for the best way to go from where he was now. Who to take? Who was the next biggest risk to him and his plan? Perhaps someone with a special power that was dangerous enough to his plot? Who was like that?

Then it dawned on him. Agent I quickly moved a select few pieces around the board, then made his move. The chosen piece fell, rolled in a little quarter of a circle, then stopped. Yes... yes, this was the one he had to capture next. Agent I stood up and confidently strode away from the chessboard, chuckling quietly.

* * *

 **(A/N) So now we know who that pawn was in Emma's dream in chapter 1, don't we? Lex! But who's this next chess piece? Any guesses? Tell me in the reviews!**

 **By the way, if you're a guest and don't give yourself a name in your review, I give one to you, usually based on what you said in your review. If you review again, tell me your nickname and I'll credit you again in the shoutouts. Otherwise, I'll have to give you another nickname.**

 **Shoutout time! OCs in this chapter belong to BlacknBlue39, Kairocksrainbow, Determine Artist (I hope you're okay with the last name I gave to your OC, you didn't give me one in your description of her), The "Kattanas" Guest (That's your new nickname!), TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning, and DragonWhisperer762!**

 **Thank you to ebony umbreon, "You Guest It"(intentional play on words because you were the only reviewer to correctly guess that the person Agent I was going to take was Lex), AveXCninja11, Kairocksrainbow, DragonWhisperer762, TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning, The Mayor of Ninjago City, and Determine Artist for your reviews!**

 **The Mayor of Ninjago City: Thank you! I did better than I expected on AP Chemistry, but the AP Human Geography exam was kinda jerky because most of what my teacher said would be on the exam WASN'T. And I hope you resume your mayoral duties soon!**

 **Determine Artist: Not sure what you mean by "new episode". If you mean season 6, that doesn't exist in my universe. The cutoff is season 5. If you mean the prequel, Neverender, then yes, that is recommended.**

 **TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning: AAAAAA! I have a nickname now! Thank you!**

 **Kairocksrainbow: You're welcome!**

 **See ya, everyone! Review** **!**


	5. One Kidnapping, One Suspect, Ten Clues

**(A/N) Hello again! Here's chapter 3 (finally)! I am so glad I finally got this out for you guys! This chapter, things are taking a darker turn. Agent I just gets worse and worse.**

 **Wow. NO ONE guessed the right person to be kidnapped. I got some pretty wild guesses, I'll tell you that. I guess it's a good thing that you all are stumped. That means I'm getting better at hiding things from you all! If you read Neverender, you may have figured stuff out way before it was supposed to be revealed.**

 **In this chapter, as promised, Agent I will take his next prisoner. Also, we get to explore the sibling relationship between Reed and Emma, as well as see the return of a character from Neverender, and lastly we get the first interaction between Agent I and the Ninja (however indirect it may be)! Read on!**

* * *

Chapter 3

One Kidnapping, One Suspect, Ten Clues

"Pass the butter."

"Ex _cuse_ me, young man?"

"Pass the butter _please_."

"That's better."

Nick rolled his eyes at Emma's and Reed's antics. Even in the middle of a kidnapping crisis, they were still bickering. He supposed they were just restless. It had been two weeks since Lex was taken, and still no one had any idea where he was. Zane finally deciphered the coded message, but it hadn't been able to tell them much besides the fact that the kidnapper was someone called Agent I, and that he was working with a very much alive Vladomir. Still, that was some valuable information, and they were still figuring out what they could do with that.

Drew, however, was a different story. Nick hadn't heard him say a single word since the kidnapping. He had fallen into an angry silence. He never ate much either; he seemed to have lost his appetite. Nick glanced over in the new fire master's direction. Drew was staring intently into space, his eyebrows furrowed, lunch untouched. Nick could only imagine what thoughts of vengeance could be going through his mind right now.

"So how's life without the little squirt?" sneered a familiar voice behind Nick. The four former agents looked up to see a towering figure smirking down at them.

"Xavier, go away," Emma snarled. "I took you down once, and I'm not afraid to do it again." Nick knew what she was talking about: a year before, when Team Nightprowler was still evil, Xavier had made the mistake of calling Emma "cute" and as a result had suffered an attack on the pressure point in his neck. Surprisingly, that hadn't taught him anything. It was common knowledge amongst the students that Xavier had a crush on Emma, because not only was she quite attractive, but was also very tough. Emma, on the other hand, clearly had no interest in him.

"Whoa, Snowflake, I don't mean any harm," Xavier said, throwing up his hands. "Besides, we all got in pretty big trouble after that, didn't we? You want to go through that again?"

Emma stood up from her seat. "I'm not afraid of getting in trouble, Xavier. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to see how you're doing, that's all."

"Oh really?"

"Really. You must be really upset after the kidnapping."

"You're not making it any better."

"How can I help?"

"Leave my sister alone!" Reed demanded, standing up too.

Xavier looked surprised. " _You_ are standing up to me? You think you can win a fight against me?"

"I can," Emma said defiantly. "We'll make a bet. If I win a fight with you, you won't ever bother us again."

Xavier smirked. "Okay then. But if I win this fight, you'll have to be my girlfriend. Deal?" He held out his hand to shake.

Without hesitation, Emma accepted the gesture. With that, Xavier walked away.

Nick, Reed, and Drew all looked at their female teammate in disbelief. "Sis, are you sure about this?" Reed asked, deeply concerned for his sister. "He won't make this easy. If you lose this bet, you'll be stuck with that hunk of meat for who knows how long!"

Emma however, stared resentfully at the bully returning to his seat next to his cronies. "Oh, I'm sure. Xavier's had this coming for him for a long time. It's time someone shows him that he's not the boss of this place."

Just then, Ivan walked up to them with a curious look on his face. "I saw Xavier over here. Is everything alright?" he asked concernedly.

"Yes, Ivan, we're fine," Nick assured him.

Drew, however, wasn't feeling so friendly. "What are you doing here, Ivan?" he spat bitterly.

Ivan raised his eyebrows at the hostile tone with which he was addressed, but didn't comment about it. Instead, he said, "I was just wondering where Violet was. She must be upset, since it was her little brother who was kidnapped. I would have thought you'd be consoling her, since, you know, you're supposed to be her boyfriend."

Drew stood up at that. "Are you questioning my relationship with my girlfriend? For your information, I was looking for her earlier, but couldn't find her. My guess is she wants to be alone right now. That's how she deals with grief at first. Now beat it!"

Ivan backed off. "Touchy today, huh? Alright, I'll leave." And with that, he walked away.

* * *

The fight was kept a secret, so that the teachers wouldn't find out and there wouldn't be so much of a fuss with the other students. If word got out that Emma and Xavier were going to get in a fight _again,_ Sensei Lloyd would put a stop to it at once. It was decided that in order to avoid the possibility of the teachers stopping them, the fight would have to be held far from the palace, in the arena with the giant cherry blossom at sunset. Only Team Nightprowler and Xavier's closest friends were allowed to attend. No weapons were allowed, only powers were to be used.

Emma was meditating in her room before the fight, trying to focus herself. She felt at peace within her room. It was designed to match her element, ice, but to still make it easy for meditation. The walls were painted white with little glittering light blue snowflakes here and there. She had winter-themed furniture, like her bedcovers being decorated with snowflakes and the mirror's edges looking frosted. The air was cool, but she liked it that way. There were gingerbread-scented candles in the meditation corner, where she now sat cross-legged, deep inside her own mind. Suddenly she felt a strange sensation. Then she was sucked into the depths of her mind's eye...

 _She was in a dark room, lying on the ground next to a small boy. Out of the darkness four figures approached. They were finally here. After what seemed like forever, they had been found. They were going to get out of this prison! Then, suddenly, a long shadow with glowing red eyes rose up in front of them. It chuckled darkly. There was the sound of glass breaking, and a purple cloud rose up and swirled around them like a hurricane. Emma could feel her whole body in agonizing pain. She screamed..._

"Emma! Sis! Snap out of it!"

Emma awoke with a start, gasping for breath. She could feel sweat beads running down her forehead. She looked around. She was back in her room. Reed, Nick, and Drew were gathered around her, all looking worriedly at her.

"Emma, what happened?" Nick asked, his voice full of concern. Emma just burst into tears.

"I-I don't kn-know!" she sobbed. "I had a vision, it was awful, I couldn't do anything, we all were tricked-"

"Sis! Get a hold of yourself! We can't understand you when you're crying!" Reed lectured.

"I'll go get Sensei Zane," Drew offered. "If you had another vision, he'll know what's best." Once he had closed the door behind him, Nick turned to his teammates.

"We have to call off the fight," he told them.

"But Xavier will try to treat that as a forfeit! He'll think he's won! I'm not letting that guy anywhere near my sister," Reed protested.

"We won't let him try anything funny," Nick tried to ease the younger boy's fears. "I'll try to explain to him what happened. Hopefully he'll understand."

"Yeah, and I have trouble hacking into the world's most secure networks," Reed countered sarcastically, obviously referencing his feat of hacking into the Black Dragons' network when he decided to rebel against the Agency last year.

Just then the door slid open, but instead of a nindroid walking in, it was the last person they needed. "I arrived at the cherry blossom, but no one was there! Hey, what's the matter?" Xavier asked, seeing Emma on the ground crying.

"None of your business, Xavier!" Reed spat.

"Whoa, slow down, Lightning bolt!"

"What did you just call me?!"

"Xavier, we have to call off the fight," Nick interrupted before things could get messy.

"What? Why?"

"Emma's in no state to fight now."

"So you're forfeiting the match? Excellent!"

"NO! We're not! We're cancelling it!" Reed argued.

"Not fair! We made a deal!"

Just then Sensei Lloyd's voice butted in. "I hear shouting. Xavier? What are you doing here?"

Everyone turned around to see Drew and Senseis Lloyd and Zane staring perplexedly at the scene before them: Emma crying on the floor, Nick crouching next to her, Xavier looking down at them angrily, and Reed standing protectively between his friends and the bully.

"Xavier, out," Lloyd commanded. "This doesn't concern you."

Reluctantly, Xavier walked out. But as he was leaving, Reed saw him mouthing three words:

 _"Watch your back."_

"Emma," Zane began, "Drew told us you had another vision. What did you see?"

Emma took a few deep breaths. "Okay," she said in a wavering voice. She explained to them what she had seen, from the shadow with red eyes to the purple smoke. The others sat in complete silence as she told the tale. When she had finished, everyone turned to Zane. He closed his glowing blue eyes for a long while. Finally, Zane opened his eyes and spoke his verdict.

"Emma, it seems you may be in danger. If, as I believe, this vision is a premonition of the future, and if in your vision you felt like you were free from some type of prison, then it is possible that you could be in danger of being taken."

"By who?" Nick asked.

"Agent I, maybe?" Reed guessed. "He took Lex. Maybe he's going to strike again!"

"We must put the island on high alert," Sensei Lloyd resolved. "Zane, get Cole and come up with a defense plan."

"If it's okay, I can help with that," Nick offered. "I'm an expert planner. I was known for my battle strategies in the Black Dragon Agency."

Sensei Lloyd nodded. "Very well. Go with Zane. Reed, go work on the security system. Emma, you need to stay here. We'll set up a guard by your door to protect you." With that, they all left, and Emma was alone.

 _This sixth sense is becoming more of a curse than a gift,_ Emma thought. _If it's supposed to help people, why does it hurt so much? And what good is all this security when I can't shake the feeling that it's not going to work?_

* * *

That night, the entire island had tightened its securities. Doors were locked, guards were set, cameras were rolling. Senior students trained in Samurai arts by Sensei Nya were patrolling the hallways and outdoors. Little did they know, they were being watched from the edge of the jungle.

 _So they've set up defenses,_ Agent I mused, stroking his chin. _Oh well. I could use a challenge. Might have to kill someone if they're not smart enough to move out of my way... but I suppose that's all part of the job when you're a double agent._

Using his powers, Agent I conjured a shadow of a human and sent it running past the guards at the front gate. Predictably, they ran off after it. _Too easy,_ Agent I thought to himself, and he snuck up to the gate. He passed his hand in front of the padlock, and it crumbled apart, allowing him entry.

Once he was inside the palace, he took out a knife. This was the part where things might get messy. He crept down the hallway, silent as a shadow. Suddenly, two senior students turned around the corner, both clad in Samurai armor. "Halt!" they shouted.

"Oh sure," Agent I said calmly, "just as soon as you defeat me." The two raised their hands, most certainly to fire their elemental powers, but Agent I merely raised his own hand and clenched his fist. Immediately, the student's own shadows jumped off the wall and grabbed them, trapping them. They struggled to no avail. Agent I simply walked on by.

He climbed two staircases before he came to another obstacle: lasers. The red beams criss-crossed and zig-zagged the hallway so that no one could pass without setting off the alarm. Agent I thought for a moment, then disappeared. He had the ability to turn himself into a shadow. He passed through the laser field without setting off a single alarm. Once he was safely on the other side of the hallway, he continued on his way. He was almost to the target's room. Then he saw the guards at the door. Should he use his shadow tricks? He could, but he was eager to use his weapon at least once.

Agent I stepped into the guards' view. "Halt!" they ordered. Agent I, however, took out his knife.

"Step aside," he advised, "or only one of you will be alive to tell the ninja what happened to the other."

"We are ninja! We are sworn to our duty! We will fight to the death if we must!"

"Suit yourself," Agent I shrugged, and he threw the knife. It hit the guard on the right in the chest, penetrating the armor easily, and she crumpled to the floor. The other guard stared at Agent I in shock.

"Poison-dipped knives," he explained. "My own formula. It works instantly. I've got another one, but I really don't want to use it. I'll just be nice and immobilize you, okay?" The guard tried to run at the double agent, but he was too late. His shadow leapt out from behind him and held him so tightly that he couldn't move a muscle. Agent I let out a small chuckle, and slid open the door to the room that held his quarry.

* * *

Five minutes later, Reed, Drew, and Nick had arrived at the door to Emma's room with the Senseis. Nick crouched to the ground next to a fallen guard. He let out a sigh. "It's Kathleen," he told the others sorrowfully. "I knew her from battle planning class. Good soldier."

"She used to draw pictures for us to hang up in our offices when she was in the younger classes," Nya choked. The group held a moment of silence for the girl. Then they slid open the door to find a disaster area. Tables were turned over, the lamp was on the ground. Papers were scattered all over the floor, and the covers were strewn over the side of the bed. Reed let out an angry roar, and Jay had to rush over to restrain him.

"THAT DIRTY TRAITOR! I'LL KILL HIM!" Reed screeched, arms and legs flailing as Jay held him back.

"Reed! Control yourself!" the former lightning master pleaded.

"IT WAS XAVIER! IT HAS TO BE!"

"Whoa, Reed! Calm down! What makes you think that?"

"When he left the room, THIS ROOM, he mouthed 'watch your back!' 'WATCH YOUR BACK!' THAT DIRTY TRAITOR!"

"Reed! Listen to me! You need to calm down! I promise you we'll look into it! But you have to calm down!" At last, the young lightning master heeded his adoptive father's words. He still breathed heavily, though.

Nya stepped in and rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Reed, as your and your sister's adoptive parents, Jay and I are both upset too. But you mustn't lose yourself to anger. It is not the Ninja way. Don't worry. Whoever did this will not get away with this." With that, Reed relaxed a bit.

"Hey, look," Nick said suddenly, pointing at the bed. On it was a black envelope. Nick picked it up and studied it. It was sealed with red wax, and the stamp read, "Regina Draconis, Aeternissima." _Wonder what that means,_ Nick thought. He looked at the others as if to silently ask permission to open it.

"Go ahead, Nick," Lloyd permitted. Nick ripped the envelope open and took out the letter inside. Slowly, with shaking hands, he unfolded it, and began to read.

 _"Greetings, Ninja. I have observed that my actions have caused quite a stir in the last few weeks. It's quite interesting to watch, I'll tell you that._

 _"I believe you may already know, but you may call me Agent I. My true name is classified, I am afraid. You must be intent upon bringing me to justice for my actions. You may try. I highly doubt you will succeed. After all, the Black Dragons control the government, and that includes the justice system. You will not be able to take your case to court. You would be arrested on sight if you tried._

 _"I am afraid I will not be making any more friendly visits to your island, however enjoyable our time together has been. Instead, I am inviting you to come to my place. Yes, you read that right. This is an official invitation to meet me face to face. It is your only opprotunnity to get back your friends. Pass it up, and they die. I hope you make the right choice. Enclosed are clues to my location. You have seven days to arrive here before I kill your friends. Happy hunting!"_

"I swear, whoever this guy is-"

"Reed-"

"I know, Nick! I am calm!"

"Doesn't sound like it."

"Let's just take a look at the clues," Drew suggested impatiently. And he was right. They needed to figure this out before time was up. He looked in the envelope and found a smaller folded piece of paper. He opened it up and began to read.

 _1\. I am deep in the woods._

 _2\. The woods are crawling with ferocious beasts at night._

 _3\. Two of your number lived here._

 _4\. Someone they knew died here._

 _5\. The two original inhabitants are both dead._

 _6\. One of your number hid from fate here._

 _7\. Three of your number have been here._

 _8\. Of the three in clue 7, one was not welcome here._

 _9\. Three people fled from here._

 _10\. A tragedy began here._

 _Where am I?_

At first, no one said anything. Then Sensei Lloyd let out a long, tired sigh.

"I know exactly where he is," he said sadly.

* * *

 **(A/N) Wow. That was my darkest chapter yet. Someone died. In The Mayor of Ninjago City's words, "Agent I is one evil dude." If you've read Shattered by Destiny, you'll know exactly where Agent I is too.**

 **Well, I finally decided what Nya teaches: Samurai arts to the older students. I probably need to specify what all the Senseis teach: Zane does meditation classes, Lloyd does advanced combat training including Spinjitzu, Kai does basic combat training, Jay teaches robotics and mechanics, Skylor teaches elemental power theory and is in charge of Initiations (determining elemental powers in a student), Cole teaches battle planning, and Nya teaches Samurai arts.**

 **So what do you all think? Is Reed right? Is Xavier Agent I? What exactly was Emma's vision showing her? Sadly, you won't find out next chapter, or the chapter after that... What we do have next chapter is REAL SCIENCE! Plus we get to see Lex and Emma in their prison, and Lex will TALK.**

 **OH OH! Did anyone get the translation of that foreign language on the seal on the letter? It's Latin, and it reads: Queen of Dragons, Most Eternal. That's foreshadowing, so keep that in mind!**

 **Thank you to The Mayor of Ninjago City, SnowflakeShard, Kairocksrainbow, DragonWhisperer762, TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning, AveXCninja11, JayFan67, Late OC Guest, and ebony umbreon for your reviews last chapter!**

 **The Mayor of Ninjago City: Yes. Yes he is.**

 **SnowflakeShard: Thank you! I guess I'm getting more unpredictable with my writing! Yay!**

 **Kairocksrainbow: Thank you!**

 **TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning: No problem! I'm sure there's a lot of people who haven't read the prequel! The characters are much better explained in _Part 1: Neverender_ , but I didn't really have time to catch everyone up on the whole thing since I'm trying to move this along without dragging everyone behind on backstory stuff. I try to explain things where it fits, but I think my readers might get bored if I ramble on about that stuff. I'm REALLY bad at compressing explanations. I'd have whole paragraphs of explaining. I have descriptions of my OCs and their roles on my profile though, so you can look at that for easy reference. I might explain things in chapter 5, since I've got almost nothing else to put in there...**

 **DragonWhisperer762: You're welcome! And thanks for the sweets!**

 **AveXCninja11: Now ya know!**

 **JayFan67: Congratulations on guessing right! Thank you!**

 **ebony umbreon: Oh yes... Beware ye Chapter 6: Travels, Traitors, and Tea...**

 **Late OC guest: Oooooh, I'm sorry, but I'm no longer accepting OCs. I hope you continue to enjoy this fic anyways!**

 **See ya next time! Review please!**


	6. Captives

**(A/N) First, an apology. So, last chapter, stuff got dark. I'm sorry. I hope I didn't lose any viewers. But this is an adventure/mystery, and Agent I is pure evil, so this fic is going to get dark. I think it's going to be the darkest of the three parts, but I can promise you that Part 3 will have a happy ending. Please bear with me! Sorry this chapter is so short. I wanted to provide a break from all the action, so I decided to make a chapter that was somewhat even on the rising action slope. Fun fact: I actually collaborated with my AP Chemistry teacher on the science behind this chapter, so this is REAL SCIENCE here, people!**

 **Okay, now that that's over with, on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Captives

 _Emma watched helplessly as the door slid open to reveal a person who looked exactly like the chess player in her first vision. Brown trenchcoat, black fedora, all of it. She had put up a good fight, that was for sure. If only she had a weapon on her, she might have won. But she didn't. Agent I ultimately won by turning her own shadow against her, causing it to pick her up and hold her tightly in its grasp._

 _"I'll scream!" Emma warned._

 _"It won't matter. We'll both be gone by the time help comes." Agent I responded flatly._

 _"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"_

Emma awoke with a start. In the darkness, she could make out a figure standing over her. She could see that the person had wavy blonde hair. "Lex?!" she gasped. The figure nodded. She sat up and looked around. They were in a dark, circular room with only one light bulb above them to dimly light up the place. In the small amount of light they had, she could make out several machines. She got up and began to explore more. It looked like the machines were used for blending and grinding things. In other places there were multiple shelving units holding hundreds of jars. Some were empty, and some were filled with dried, shredded leaves. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs. The walls extended upward and formed a domed roof, at the top of which was the dim light. She knocked on the walls. They were solid metal plates with bolts holding them together.

"Interesting," Emma mused. "These are all things you might find in a tea shop. But it certainly doesn't look like a teashop." She hadn't been in many teashops, but the ones she had been in certainly weren't made of metal. They also weren't filled with chemicals, and this place had tables with plenty of substances in flasks and beakers. She looked at a few of the glass containers. One held a blue liquid and was labeled, "COPPER SULFATE". Another had a light pink powder in it and was labeled, "MANGANESE (II) CHLORIDE TETRAHYDRATE", and yet another contained a yellow powder and was labeled, "LEAD (II) IODIDE".

"This might be a laboratory for the formation and testing of teas," said a soft voice behind her. Emma whirled around. The only people in the room were herself and Lex. Her mouth dropped open. That meant...

"You talked!" Emma gasped in disbelief. "I've never heard you talk before!"

"I was always able to," the boy in green said quietly, looking at his shoes and shuffling them. "I just didn't like to."

"I thought you had Selective Mutism," Emma breathed. She leaned against the wall; her head was spinning from this new development.

"I do," he said. "But therapy with my dad has been helping. I'll talk when I really need to. When the situation is dire enough."

Emma didn't know what to think. She was feeling relief, since she had someone to actually talk to for however long they were going to be stuck here, and frustration, since Lex hadn't told anyone before now.

She took a deep breath. "Alright then," she said, trying to put aside her shock, "Let's concentrate on finding a way out of here."

"Actually, I was already working on that," Lex said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I've been studying the door, and I think I know how to open it."

"How?"

"Well, the walls and door are made of steel," he told her. "If we can find some strong acid and a Q-tip, I think we might be able to get out of here."

"Strong acid and a Q-tip? How are we gonna get out of here with those? I may not be evil now, but I still like big bangs. I say we blow the door down."

"I'm pretty sure our captor thought of you trying to create a bomb to get out of here. No doubt he would have put up extra measures to make sure that didn't happen. And besides, a bomb would compromise our safety. We want to get out of here in one piece."

"All right then," Emma huffed, "what do you suggest we do?"

Lex appeared to think hard. "We should get a strong acid. Hydrochloric acid will do. We'll have to use a Q-tip to paint a hole outline in the door. We'll keep applying coats of acid to our outline every once in a while, and slowly it will eat away at the door."

"Wait. How long will this take?"

"A couple of days or so."

"We don't have that time! I'm gonna make a bomb."

"No. That will compromise our safety."

"UGH! You're impossible!"

Lex shrugged. "Fine. I'll do it."

"You? You're too young to mess around with chemicals! And I thought you were a physicist, not a chemist!"

Lex shrugged again. "I read. You don't. You know less about it than I do."

Emma put her hands on her hips. "Okay then, genius. What do we do?"

"First, we find our acid."

* * *

Agent I watched through the hidden camera he'd planted in the old laboratory. So they were trying to escape using the lab equipment, were they? Well, the way they were going about it would take days. Besides, even if they did get out, they wouldn't get past him. Oh well. At least watching their attempts would be entertaining for a while.

Vladomir was expecting him to test some of their latest weaponry on whomever Agent I managed to take, but Agent I wasn't going to do that. He had other plans. It wasn't a coincidence that the people he had kidnapped were Lex and Emma. The pieces he had captured on the chessboard had been chosen logically, even strategically. Lex was the smartest one. Left on the island, he'd eventually be able to figure out who Agent I was and exploit him. He couldn't have that. And Emma, she had sixth sense. Although her visions could be cryptic, they'd eventually point to him. Zane had sixth sense too, and a much more developed one, but he was a sensei, and even Agent I couldn't take him on without revealing his identity. And that was saying something.

No, from here on out, Agent I would be working on his own. He'd been sending false texts to Vladomir lately, and soon it would be time for stage three of Agent I's plan. He'd already left the Ninja the note telling them his location. The cottage in the woods where Heather and her mother made special teas had once been Lloyd's hiding place when he had been on the run from destiny. The house had been burned down, but the warehouse was still intact.

 _Now, it's_ my _hideout_ , Agent I thought smugly. The warehouse was perfect for his uses. The laboratory served as the prison, there was a nearly endless supply of magical teas and potions for his use, and there were plenty of shadows to feed his power.

Agent I then left the surveillance room and entered the chessboard room. He sat down at the lone chair like always. He stared at the little pieces on the black and white squares. Like the chessmen, the people they represented were so small and insignificant when compared to his huge plan. In a way, they were all pawns in his game of chess. Emma, Lex, Drew, Reed, Nick, Violet, Lloyd, Jay, Cole, Zane, Kai, Skylor, Nya, all of them were pawns. Some pawns were simply more powerful, important, or harder to manipulate than others.

And now, he had successfully forced them to bend to his will. All the pieces were in place for him to win. They would _have_ to come for their friends, and when they did, he would be waiting for them, ready to capture them one by one. Once they were all in his grasp, he would give them his little parting gift...

Suddenly a loud beeping came from the surveillance room. Agent I left the chessboard and returned to his desk, where his laptop was informing him of an incoming video conversation from Vladomir. Agent I sat down at his swivel chair and clicked on it, and his client's face filled the screen. He seemed to be seated at the desk in his office at Black Dragon Tower. He had a scowl on his slightly wrinkled face, and his steely grey eyes bored through the screen at the double agent.

"Agent I, you're in trouble," the dictator growled.

"Vladomir. What's the problem?" Agent I asked, leaning back in his chair and feigning cluelessness.

"Problem is you haven't contacted me for two weeks. And you also aren't hiding out where you said you'd be."

"Where did I say I'd be?"

"In the old Fire Temple. When a squad came to check on your progress, you were nowhere to be found. Instead, they happened upon two fire wolves. Only one of the five agents I sent came back. Said it was a trap and that all the others had been bitten to death, then dragged into the lava. Why would you do that?"

"I never put fire wolves in there," Agent I lied. "Fire wolves are native to that area. They must have taken up residence in there. It's your squad's fault they're dead, not mine."

"Yet the account that the agent gave says that the wolves were too organized to be acting of their own accord."

Agent I knew he could easily argue his way out of this one. He masked his smugness with a you-can't-be-serious expression. "How the _hell_ was he able to tell?" he asked. "A bigger question, why was he taking the time to observe whether they were organized or not? Why wasn't he running away? If he'd _really_ been there long enough to tell whether they were organized or not, he wouldn't have gotten away. What probably happened was that the agent ran away, but fearing that he'd get in trouble for both abandoning his squad and coming back with no results, he reported that the wolves were organized. That way, the blame would fall off his shoulders and onto someone else's."

Vladomir appeared thoughtful for a moment. "True, probably true, didn't think of that," Vladomir admitted, "but that still doesn't explain why you weren't there when you said you would be. You lied, Agent I. Nothing you say will change that. Where are you really? Tell me the truth, or I'll put a handsome price on your head!"

Agent I laughed at that. "Good bluffing, but I know you wouldn't do that. I'm too important to you. I can't tell you where I am, but I can tell you that the Ninja are almost in my grasp. I've already set up a trap for them. And I have bait they can't refuse."

Vladomir's eyebrows rose. "Really? Then we've almost won?"

"Yes. My job is almost done. Does that make you feel better?"

"Very. I suppose you're off the hook. But answer me this: after this job is done, what do you plan on doing? I could place you in a high rank in the Black Dragon Agency. It would pay nicely, and you'd have a great amount of power."

Agent I grinned. "Don't you think it'd be a little _dangerous_ to put me in your agency? Be honest with yourself, Vladomir. Do you _really_ trust me that much? Because I don't think you should. No, that would be very, _very_ risky, Vladomir, even riskier than our current deal. For your sake, I suggest you and I part ways after this."

Vladomir just stared at the double agent with a suspicious look on his face. "What do you mean? Can't I trust you?"

Agent I just leaned forward in his chair with a devious smirk on his face. "That, my powerful friend, is entirely up to you. _Can_ you trust me?" With that, Agent I ended the call, leaving the dictator of Ninjago to chew on his question. The double agent chuckled. He didn't need to worry. No matter what Agent I did, that old man wouldn't stop trusting him. He'd even bought the lie that Agent I hadn't put those wolves in the Fire Temple (Agent I had thought it would be interesting to see if Vladomir would still trust him after that, and apparently he did). Ninjago's dictator was such an ignorant fool. And so predictable, too. It was almost Shakespearean: Vladomir was Othello, the gullible superior, while Agent I was Iago, the clever mastermind. Vladomir, the black king on his chessboard, was about to become another fallen piece. It was almost sad how poor his moves across the black and white squares had been. Ah, well. He'd had plenty of time to see him coming. Now it was too late. There was nothing, absolutely _nothing_ , that could stop Agent I now.

* * *

 **(A/N) Well well well. Agent I may not be as loyal to Vladomir as he claims he is. So, what do you think? Will Emma and Lex get out? Or will Agent I stop them? What's this parting gift that Agent I has for the Nightprowlers? And what exactly does Agent I have in store for Vladomir? Tell me what you think in the reviews!**

 **Next chapter is another breather, but we get to see the rest of the submitted OCs. Also, someone is going to join the Nightprowlers as the sixth member! We'll also see the game plan for the rescue mission, and finally see if Emma and Lex's plan will work! There will also be a little bit of fluff, even though I'm not quite sure how good I am at that yet... It's all going to be the sunshine before the storm clouds roll in.**

 **In other news, I found out that my cousin, who is not too much younger than I am, likes Ninjago! That was a good day.**

 **Thanks to SnowflakeShard, The Mayor of Ninjago City, Kairocksrainbow, JayFan67, and ebony umbreon for your reviews last chapter! Congratulations to SnowflakeShard and the Mayor of Ninjago City for correctly guessing Agent I's location! Some of you are studying up! :D**

 **Review please! They keep me fueled!**


	7. The Sixth Nightprowler

**(A/N) So, I have a job now, and my time to write has been limited, plus I'm going on a big western adventure to places like Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone, so there's no guarantee for service. I might not be able to update for a while. But I'm really excited for the trip anyway! This chapter, we're going to see some fluff, the rest of the OCs, never-before-seen backstories of Emma, Reed, and Nick, and a new Nightprowler (hence the name)! This chapter is the last one before the action resumes, so use this breather while you have it! Read away!**

* * *

Chapter 5

The Sixth Nightprowler

Violet sat in her room, looking out the window at the shimmering waves lapping at the island shore. Somewhere across that ocean, her little brother was waiting for rescue with a psycopath for a captor. Who knew what he could be doing to the poor little guy? She knew Drew must be equally, if not more upset than she was. He'd raised the kid, promised her mother he'd keep him safe. And now he was all the way across the sea, in the old tea storehouse in the woods. She, like her father, had figured out that it was their old home that the clues were referring to. After all, she had lived there.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. She slid it open to see Drew. He smiled weakly at her. "Hey. I wanted to talk. Can I come in?" Violet stepped aside to let him in. The couple sat down on the bed.

"So, what's up?" Violet asked her boyfriend.

"Well, Vi, I've been wanting to ask you this for a while, but I never got the chance," he began. "I wanted to ask you, well, if you wanted to, y'know, maybe join our team?"

Violet looked up at Drew and blinked. "Me?"

"Well, yeah. You're a great fighter. We could use a ninja like you."

Violet thought about it. "What exactly do you do? I mean, other than Ninja activities?"

"Well," Drew began, "When we were working for the Agency, Team Nightprowler was a small nocturnal group of elite young agents who were top of their class in a specific field. Nick was a master navigator and tracker, Emma was the best shot in her class, Reed was terrible in combat but his knack for figuring out computers made up for it, I was the best fighter in my grade, and Lex was a child genius. The Black Dragon Agency brought us all together and made us a team. They had brainwashed us all after we were taken from the monastery when we were kids, but it hadn't worked on me, so I was the only one who remembered everything. It was hard being the only one who had any sense of goodness, I'll tell you that. Our final mission for them was, well, you know what it was: to find the Ninja's weaknesses and tell the Agency about it so they could destroy you all. After we became good and joined the Ninja, we haven't been told to do much together as a team."

"So where would I fit in?"

"Well, we're not sure yet. That's something we need to figure out."

"Do I need to pass a test, or can I just join?"

"If I were in charge of the team, I'd just let you join, but since Nick is the leader, he's bound to have some sort of test for you. I'm sure you'll pass it though!" He gave her a peck on the cheek, and she let out a giggle. Even in a crisis, there should still be lighthearted moments. "Don't worry," Drew consoled his girlfriend. "We'll find Lex. It'll be alright, you'll see."

* * *

Reed sat in his room on his bed, playing Fist-2-Face 8 on the giant flat-screen tv on the wall. Feverishly he worked the buttons on the controller, beating the crap out of his opponent. He was wracking up points faster than he ever had before.

"Wow. Bad day?" Nick had walked in on him showing no mercy to the CPU.

Without looking up, Reed started to vent. "What do you _think?_ My sister has been kidnapped by Xavier, and all we're doing is _sitting_ here!"

Nick sat down on the bed next to his younger teammate. "What makes you so sure it was Xavier?" he asked.

Reed snorted. "Well, _first,_ the guy called Lex a "squirt" the other day at lunch when we made that challenge. He obviously hates him! And I already told you that when he walked out during Emma's panic attack before she was kidnapped he mouthed 'watch your back!' He also went missing after we found the note. What more proof do you need?"

Nick sighed as he watched Reed's player frying the opponent with lightning blasts. He knew Reed and Emma were close. They were all each other had. He knew their backstory. It was very tragic. Reed and Emma's parents were police officers. The Senseis had actually known them from their ninja days. They were good people. They knew the people of Ninjago City and said hi to some of them on the street. But one night they were on a chase after a man who had robbed a drugstore and shot the man at the register. They finally had him cornered, but the man wasn't going quietly, and his gun was still loaded. That was the night that Mr. and Mrs. Michaels became fallen heroes. And just like that, Reed and Emma were parentless at ages two and six respectively. In their will, the Michaels had named the Ninja as the legal guardians of their kids, since they knew them and knew they could train them to be fighters for good, just like their parents.

Nick didn't remember his parents at all. But he knew he wasn't loved. He spent most of his early life on the street after he was dumped there as soon as he could walk and talk. He was part of a group of boys who stole food and money to get by. His keen senses were a great asset to the group, and he was well respected for his ability to pick a pocket without being noticed. He also had unnatural strength for his age, and could create small tremors in the ground (he didn't know at the time, but these abilities were due to his earth powers), so that helped in fights with rival groups over a scrap of food. He always stuck up for those smaller than him, believing that they needed protection from the bigger bullies who tried to take the money and food that they rightfully "earned".

He'd been in the pickpocket business for years before he snatched a box of chicken dumplings from an unsuspecting Sensei Cole, who had been stopping for a bite to eat while scouting the streets for potential ninja students. Cole had given chase and found Nick dishing out the dumplings to his fellow pickpockets. Nick had caused a tremor to try to scare off the Sensei, but instead of getting angry, Cole told the boys they could keep the dumplings, but that Nick would have to come with him to train to be a ninja. At first, Nick didn't like the idea of being a good boy, having grown up stealing to live another day. But he eventually got used to it and realized that all that time being a pickpocket, looking after the younger ones, he'd been protecting those who couldn't protect themselves. This was no different.

"Did you hear that Drew suggested that Violet joins the team?" Nick asked, trying to get his friend's mind off the topic of his sister.

"No, but figures. He's been wanting her to join the team for a long time." Reed answered. "He's obviously using the excuse that after these kidnappings we need more teammates to get you to let her on board. What would Violet even do? Emma's the sharpshooter who can use virtually any weapon you give her without issues, Drew's the combat expert who knows almost every fighting style there is, I'm possibly the best hacker in Ninjago, considering the fact that I was able to hack into the most secure network in the world last year, you're the navigator, tracker, and leader, and Lex is our mathematical genius who can solve anything. But what's Violet's strength? We all know she's good at combat, but we can't have two combat experts."

"I've been thinking about that," Nick told him. "She definitely has an agile build, and from what I've seen, she's pretty quick. We might want to test her on theft arts. We don't have a thief yet."

"Wouldn't we need to take her on this mission anyways, even if she doesn't join? I mean, we're gonna need someone to show us the way to the hideout."

"True, true," Nick agreed. Then he stood up. "Well, I should probably get one of the arenas ready to test her."

"Have fun."

"Oh, you're coming, too."

"What?! But I'm in the middle of this-"

"No excuses. I'll need your help on creating an obstacle course."

Reed groaned. "Do I _have_ to?"

 _"Yes._ Now get your old Black Dragon uniform on. We're doing this as Nightprowlers."

* * *

Violet was in the dojo, warming up for her test. She had no idea what she was going to be doing during it, so she was working on a little bit of everything: push-ups, pull-ups, stretches, handstands, fighting stances. Suddenly the door slid open, and Drew came in wearing something different than his normal gi. It was a uniform of some sort, with a long-sleeved shirt and long pants with pockets everywhere. It was mostly black, but had a red belt tied around his waist. He wore red fingerless gloves and black boots. He had a sly smirk on his face, which, Violet knew, meant he had something he knew she'd like. She noticed he was holding a purple gift bag at his side. She crossed her arms and gave him a small smile. "Alright, fire boy, what's in the bag?"

"Why don't you open it and find out?" Drew suggested, holding it out to her. She took it and plopped herself down on the floor. She tore the tissue paper out and found what looked like a folded-up uniform. Was this...?

"It's your Nightprowler uniform. I asked my mom to put something together real quick," Drew explained to her.

Violet looked up at him. "You...you did this for _me?_ But, I haven't even taken the test yet!"

Drew scratched the back of his head and a little color came to his cheeks. "Well, to be honest, I think you'll pass it with flying colors. It's not designed to be challenging, it's designed to see what you're good at. I can't tell you what you'll be doing, it's supposed to be secret, but it tests things like agility, strength, speed, reaction times, stuff like that. You'll pass it, I just know it."

Violet ran at him, threw her arms around him, and kissed him hard on the lips. When she pulled away, she giggled at her boyfriend's expression: eyes wide in surprise, mouth slightly open in shock. "What?" Violet asked. "It's not like we've never kissed before."

"Never like that," Drew breathed. Violet laughed again and picked up the uniform Drew had given her.

"I'll go put this on. I want to do my test in it," she told him gleefully. Then she raced out of the dojo. Drew just stared after her, still in shock. Then he shook his head. He shouldn't be this surprised. Violet's element was dark energy, so it was in her nature to be impulsive, unpredictable, and have wild mood swings. Dating her was a real rollercoaster; sometimes she'd be passionate and romantic, and other times she'd be insisting on being independent and alone. But Drew had known what he was getting into when he hopped on this train. Lloyd had even warned him about Violet's unpredictability once he was first told about their relationship. But the truth was, Drew wouldn't have her any other way. There was never a boring moment with her around, and he would take her wildness over a predictable girl any day.

* * *

Violet checked herself out in the mirror in the girls' bathroom. Her suit looked good. It was made of black leather, and she wore a long purple belt that was wrapped tightly around her from her waist to halfway up her torso. The belt had two clips, one on each side, to hang her war fans on. It had an off-shoulder neckline and an oval-shaped cutout in the back. Her pants were tucked into her black boots, which went up to her knees. There was a short purple skirt that flowed freely allowing her to run. She put her long black hair into a high ponytail to keep it out of her face.

Just then four girls walked into the bathroom together. Violet recognized all of them: Ray Walker, Sukki Wilson, Tora Halestorm, Reena Johnson. Ray was a confident and energetic person, but a little emotionally unstable. She was olive skinned, and had long black hair that came down in waves and purple eyes. Sukki was an optimistic girl who wore her strawberry blonde hair in a braid, and had grey eyes with a spray of freckles on her nose. Tora was stubborn yet kind, with black hair with a green streak running down one side. Her eyes shone bright green, and her cheeks were dotted with freckles. Reena was a mischievious one who stood tall and skinny with pale skin, and had long black hair that sometimes hid one eye.

"OMG, Violet!" Reena gushed. "Is that a new gi? It's so awesome!"

"Thanks," Violet responded, looking down at the suit, "but it's not a gi. Drew gave it to me because I'm being tested today to be a Nightprowler."

"No way!" Ray gasped. "Can we watch you?"

"Well, they didn't say anything about no spectators," Violet mused. "I guess you can."

"Great!" Tora squealed. "Where is it?"

"Arena 4."

"We'll see you there!" Sukki promised.

When Violet arrived a few minutes later, she found the three boys standing at the base of the giant pole, waiting for her. She stood in front of them and glanced at Drew. His cheeks were red; he probably liked her new suit. Then she looked over at Nick and Reed. Reed's suit was different from Drew's. His suit was almost completely black, with long sleeves and long pants. A belt carrying various electronic devices was around his waist. He wore blue gloves and blue shoes, and high-tech communication devices encircled his wrists. Nick also had a unique suit. It had a black and grey cameo pattern on it, and had pockets all over it. His belt carried a swiss army knife, a grappling gun, binoculars, a compass, and many other gadgets. He wore black leather gloves, and wore black army boots. She looked up in the bleachers. The girls she'd met earlier had taken some front row seats. They waved down at her.

"Violet Garmadon," Nick began, "you have been called here because we believe you have the potential to become a Nightprowler. You have demonstrated determination, courage, will, and many other skills that show that you might have what it takes to join us. However, being a Nightprowler will require much more from you. Today, we will test your strength, speed, agility, ingenuity, and problem solving skills to see whether or not you will be permitted to join us. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Instead of looking satisfied, though, Nick frowned. "Until you have earned the title of Nightprowler you will call me _'sir'_. Is that clear?"

Drew turned to his leader with a look of exasperation. _"Seriously_ dude? You're gonna scare her off."

"Yeah," Reed agreed. "You really need to chill."

Then Drew turned to the lightning wielder. "Reed. You've known Nick for _how_ long and you still expect him to be able to _chill?_ Mister Drill Sargent here doesn't know _how_ to chill."

"Will you two cut it out?!" Nick scolded. "Let's just get this over with, then you can fool around all you want. Got it?"

"Whatever," Reed sighed, and all three former agents turned toward the training course.

"NINJAAAAGOOO!" they shouted, and all all three formed spinjitzu tornadoes, Reed's looking a little unstable, since he'd just barely finished the course a few days ago with Sensei Jay. They swept through the obstacles, swirling dust into the air. When all three tornadoes dissipated on the other end of the arena from Violet, the training course had been transformed. The swords and axes around the course were now real, and were red hot. The planks and logs were crackling with electricity, and the ground was actually rippling like ocean waves. The biggest difference though, was that the course was rotating around the pole in the center of the arena. Violet took a step back.

"To pass the test, you must get that key at the top of the pole in the center of the arena," Nick told her. "Fight your way up to it."

"Hey," Drew called over to her. She looked toward him. He was giving her that adorable smirk of his. "You'll do great." Violet thought of their earlier conversation, of him giving her the Nightprowlers suit, of his reaction when she kissed him. She couldn't help but smile back. She had a feeling that he was thinking of the same thing.

Violet began to circle the course, looking for a way through. She observed that the hot swords were on the outermost ring, and were rotating in a clockwise direction. The electrified planks and logs were in the next ring, and they circled counterclockwise. The rippling ground was the innermost ring, and it was going clockwise like the hot swords. Inside that was the pole with the key at the top. This would be difficult. Violet took a deep breath, and dove in.

* * *

Nick stood in disbelief. He couldn't believe what he'd just seen. Violet had passed the test on the first try.

At first it looked like she wouldn't make it. She had almost been burnt by the hot swords, and almost lost her balance. But she somehow ended up jumping through to the next ring. When she came to the electrified circle of planks and logs, she demonstrated great agility and strength by maneuvering her way through the field of lightning on her hands, careful not to let her metal war fans come near the bolts. Then she got to the rippling floor. She lost her balance and fell twice, but she kept getting back up. Eventually she found that if she rode the crest of the waves by running with it, she was able to get high enough to jump to the top of the pole and grab the key. As soon as she took it, the entire floor of the arena shone bright white, and when the light died, the training course was back to normal.

"I did it," she breathed, and slid down the pole.

"Violet, you are now the thief on Team Nightprowler," Nick declared. "You have shown us that you have what it takes. Continue to produce these same results."

"I _told_ you that you could do it!" Drew exclaimed, and ran up to her, picked her up, and swung her around in a circle.

Reed rolled his eyes. "Come on, Nick, let's leave these lovebirds and play Fist-2-Face 8," he groaned. "You owe me a round, since you made me quit the one I was on to come down here." With that, the two boys walked out the exit door.

"I still can't believe Violet passed the test on her _first try,"_ Nick told his teammate.

"Well, she _is_ the daughter of the Green Ninja," Reed pointed out. "I'm not too surprised."

* * *

When the monastery was destroyed last year, the Destiny's Bounty had gone with it, since taking it with the Ninja when they left would draw too much attention. Instead they had fled on foot. So Nya and Jay had built a new one since then, and it served mostly as a control station, always tied to the docks next to the paddleboats. It had more computers than before, plus hundreds of maps, both paper and digital, of the different parts of Ninjago, along with some other known countries like Astoria. Cole, Lloyd and Zane were in the bridge of the Bounty, studying the map of the Shadow Forest. They drew boundaries around shadow wolf territories, traced the safest trails (and those _not_ so safe), trying to locate exactly where Heather's and Lloyd's cottage used to be. It was difficult, as the forest had never been very carefully mapped before now.

"Tell me Lloyd," Cole began, "Why _exactly_ was the cottage so secret in the first place? With all the rare teas you made, you could make a fortune."

"Heather's mother didn't like the outside world that much," Lloyd explained. "She didn't trust most people. It took her a while to warm up to _me._ She would go out and make some decent money selling our rare teas to tea shops in places like Jamonikai Village, where she trusted the owners. She'd use Traveler's tea to get around, never going on foot, because she'd have to come across people she didn't trust. But in her defense, some of the plants we grew and turned into teas were _extremely_ rare. Don't you think people might exploit that to make their own fortunes? Her fears were not unfounded, Cole."

"Maybe so," Zane put in, "but because of all the secrecy, we now have no idea where to look. And we don't have that much time left. We only have approximately 49 hours left before our time runs out, only a little more than two days. It would be most unfortunate if we were unable to retrieve Emma and Lex."

Just then, the door to the bridge slid open, and Violet ran in wearing something much different than her normal gi. Lloyd stared at his daughter with one eyebrow raised. "Violet, _what_ are you wearing?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

"Dad, I'm a Nightprowler now! I passed their test! I'm part of their team!"

Lloyd blinked. Did he hear her right? Did Drew, Nick, and Reed really add Violet to their group? "Sweetheart, I don't understand," the head Sensei expressed.

Suddenly, the three remaining Nightprowlers entered the room. "It's true, Sensei Lloyd," Nick told him. "We added her to the team. She's one of us now."

For a moment, Lloyd stood there with his mouth slightly open. Then his expression turned cross. "Violet, may I speak with you privately?" he asked, motioning for her to follow him outside the room. When they were both outside the door, he slid it shut and turned to his daughter with a frown.

"Violet, would you care to explain to me why you made such a huge decision _without_ my permission?" the sensei probed.

Violet put her hands on her hips. "Dad, I can make my own decisions. You can't expect me not to do _anything_ without your say-so. I need more independence!"

"You don't understand, Violet! The Nightprowlers do _very_ dangerous tasks! And they also can take _extreme_ measures to get a job done! What job are you doing for them?"

"I'm the thief."

"NO. I will not allow you to _steal_. You are a _ninja,_ not a _criminal!"_

"Is something wrong?" Drew had slid open the door, curious as to what all the shouting was about. Nick and Reed were behind him, also wondering the same thing.

"Boys, I'm afraid that Violet will not be allowed to join your team," Lloyd answered. "Thank you for the offer, however."

"What?! No!" Violet exclaimed. "I am _not_ a little girl anymore, Dad! I'm growing up, and nothing you try to do will stop that! Someday I'll be all grown up. You need to accept that!" She walked over to stand by Drew. "I'm a Nightprowler now, and that's that!"

"I'm telling you, Violet, this decision will backfire on you!"

 _"Fine_ then! But I've made my choice, and I'm not backing out on it! Besides, I'll need to go with them on this mission to find Emma and Lex anyway because they need a guide who's actually lived there. You can't go, since you have to teach here. So it's got to be me."

Lloyd sighed. "Very well," he said after a moment, "but don't say I didn't warn you!"

"Well, now that that's resolved, let's take a look at our route, shall we?" Reed suggested, trying to change the topic.

"Yes," Cole breathed in relief after the tension had been released. "Lloyd, Zane, and I have been working on that. We believe that the house must be in this general area." He pointed with a stick at a circle about the size of a coffee mug on the map of the forest. "If we can get you somewhere in there with Traveler's Tea, we're hoping that that will get you to a spot that you would be able to recognize. From there, you could find your way to the cottage."

"And Agent I," Zane added. "But that's the optimistic way of saying it. In reality, without an exact location on the map, you could end up anywhere in the forest, possibly in shadow wolf territory. If that doesn't happen and you do end up in the right area, you might not remember where you are and could get lost. You only have about a 43.4 percent chance of getting to the site of the cottage."

"That's a minority," Reed observed, wincing.

"Then let's _beat_ those odds," Nick said with determination in his voice. "Let's gear up, Nightprowlers! We've got some friends to save!"

* * *

In the dark laboratory, the young physicist went over to the steel door to check on the hydrochloric acid's progress. There was a large outline of a circle in it where they had been applying coats of acid. He gave the center of the circle a push. Amazingly, it began to budge. "Emma!" Lex called over his shoulder.

"What _now?"_ Emma moaned from the floor on the other side of the room. "This better be good. I'm bored out of my mind."

"I think we've gotten through the door!"

"What?!"

"Get over here! I need help pushing out the circle!" Emma scrambled over to her younger teammate and began to push with him.

"Careful not to touch the acid," Lex reminded her.

"I _know!_ You told me before! I don't need to be told twice!"

Finally, after pushing as hard as they could, the circle of steel crashed to the floor on the other side. "We made it!" Emma exclaimed with glee. Just as they were crawling out though, they heard a tenor voice in front of them.

"You got farther than I thought you would," it stated. "You have my congratulations. But no one gets past _me._ I thought you would have been smart enough to figure that out, Lex. It seems I was mistaken."

The two escapees looked up to see a tall figure in a trenchcoat and fedora standing over them. Lex sighed. He should have seen this coming.

* * *

 **(A/N) So that escape attempt went over well. XP**

 **Thanks to The Mayor of Ninjago City, AveXCninja11, Kairocksrainbow, SnowflakeShard, ebony umbreon, and JayFan67 for your reviews last chapter! Keep them coming!**

 **In other news, my cousin (the one who likes Ninjago) has told me she's a Kai fan. We've been binge-watching all the episodes from the beginning of Rebooted all the way to the end of Skybound. We're watching the finale on Youtube tonight!**

 **So, am I good or terrible at fluff? Tell me so I can decide if I want to do more of this in the future! Next chapter, we find out who Agent I is! Any final guesses? Last chance people! Next time, we'll also reach the climax of this story with the revelation of Agent I's identity, so hang on tight! Plus, we'll get to see what I like to call a "boss battle scene", and Agent I will do something VERY cruel...**

 **Review please!**


	8. Travels, Traitors, and Tea

**(A/N) Hello everybody! This is it! The chapter I've been waiting to release ever since I first started this fic! Chapter 6 is when we finally find out who Agent I is! I'll warn you though, this will be one sad chapter. No, none of our friends are going to die, but Agent I is going to do something VERY cruel to the Nightprowlers. We'll also see my explanation for why the Garmadon family never gets a break. Read away!**

* * *

Chapter 6

Travels, Traitors, and Tea

"Here we are."

Violet had led them through the thickest part of the woods until they came to a large clearing. A short distance away was a small, roofed well. There was a cracked stone walkway that led to a small picket fence, the gate of which was wide open. It looked like it would have belonged to a humble little home. But it was far from it.

Inside the fence was a charred frame of what used to be a house. Part of the roof had caved in along with the walls of the room it was over, revealing part of the room inside. There were large holes in the frame, and everything looked as though it might collapse at any moment. Violet felt a lump in her throat. So many fond memories flooded into her mind. The sweet aroma of herbs and teas. The delicious apple pies. Napping under the cherry blossom tree. A trip into the woods to find healing plants with her mother. Learning the names of the different teas and how to make them with her grandmother. Hearing stories of heroic deeds from her father.

This was once her home. Before everything changed. Before the fire.

Violet shook her head. She had to focus on the task at hand. They had to find the captives. "The storehouse is this way," she told her fellow travelers.

They walked a little ways into the woods to the right of the house until they came to what looked like a small shed. "This is it?" Nick asked, unimpressed.

Violet gave a small smile over her shoulder at him. "Don't be fooled," she told him. "This isn't what it looks like." She was about to put the key into the lock when she found that the lock had been broken. _Probably the doing of the person who invited us here,_ she thought with a feeling of dread. She opened the door to the top of a spiral staircase. She flipped the switch to the right of the door, but it wouldn't turn on. She sighed. "I was afraid of this. We'll have to use our flashlights."

Everyone reached into their bags and pulled out their flashlights. They clicked them on, and began the decent. It took a long time to get to the bottom, but they eventually made it.

"This might be a bad time to ask, but is anyone afraid of spiders?" asked Reed.

"Not a bad time at all," Drew responded sarcastically.

"Quit fooling around, you two!" Nick chastised them. "Violet, how big is this place?"

"One square mile. Every tea in the world is here."

The group followed Violet deeper into the gigantic underground storehouse. Sweeping the room with their flashlights, they could see that there were rows upon rows of huge shelving units that reached the high ceiling. Each shelf held bottles of various colored liquids. Whenever they pointed their flashlights down one of the aisles, the beam wouldn't even reach the wall at the end.

"This place is huge. We'll have to split up," Nick concluded.

"No. We'll get lost that way," Violet argued. "This place is a maze and only I know the way through it. We must stick together."

"We'll never find them in time that way. We'll cover more ground if we split up. And if their captor decides to try anything, he can't get us all at once. Use your communication devices to contact each other if anyone finds anything or if something goes wrong`."

"Still, if we're gonna split up, we'd better split into pairs so he can't catch us alone," Violet insisted.

"Good idea. Drew and Violet can check the right side of the place, while Reed and I take the left. If anyone gets captured, we'll alert the rest by our communication devices."

* * *

Reed was using the heat vision mode he'd recently installed in his glasses to scan the place for any signs of life. So far though, he hadn't had any luck. "Ugh, why does this have to be so difficult?!" he groaned. "If Agent I wanted us to find him, why is he making it so hard for us to do so?"

"Maybe we're just looking in the wrong place," Nick suggested from behind him.

"You think he's on the other side of the storehouse?" Reed asked, still scanning the place. Nick didn't answer. Reed looked around for his friend, but Nick was gone. "Nick? Nick?"

"To answer your question about Agent I's location, Reed, he's actually _much_ closer than you think." a voice behind him sneered.

"Who was that? Was that you, Nick? Nick?! Where are you?! Nick!" Reed didn't like this...

Suddenly his communication device turned itself off. "What the-" he started. Then his glasses shut down completely, and the lenses turned black. He couldn't see three inches in front of his face without his glasses, so he couldn't take them off to see what was going on; either way he was almost completely blind. Someone twisted his arms behind his back and started tying them together. He would have cried for help if the person hadn't clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Don't worry, Reed," the voice said in his ear. "Everyone will get out in one piece. For now, though, you'll have to sit tight with your other three friends while I find a way to take Drew and Violet, too."

Reed continued to struggle until he felt something against his back. Was that... the barrel of a gun?

"You just won't sit still, will you?" the voice asked. "Well, then, I can fix that pretty quickly."

* * *

"Grr, when are going to find them?"

Drew and Violet were weaving down every isle, searching for Emma and Lex. So far, the only thing they'd found were a few dead rats. Drew's patience was wearing thin. He wanted to find the captives, but they were obviously doing it wrong if they'd discovered nothing yet. Just then, Violet stopped.

"Did you find something?!" Drew asked hopefully.

"Look at this." She was shining her flashlight at one of the shelves.

Drew scanned the area that she was lighting up, but he didn't see anything significant. "Okay, I give up. What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"A jar of Tomorrow's Tea is gone."

Drew looked closer at the shelf she had indicated. Sure enough, there was an empty spot. "So?" he asked, not seeing why this was so important right now. They were looking for hostages, not missing jars of tea.

"Drew!" Violet face-palmed in frustration. "My family always kept a full stock of every tea in the storehouse! And we left this place with a full stock of Tomorrow's Tea! That means someone else came here and took a jar!"

"You think it's Agent I?" Drew breathed.

"It could be. Maybe he's trying to age the captives!"

"Then we have to find him before that happens."

Suddenly there was a loud bang from somewhere in the warehouse. Drew and Violet looked at each other in panic.

"What was that?" Violet's every word quaked.

"I know what it was," Drew murmured. "I grew up around Emma. I know a gunshot when I hear one."

The pair broke into a run to speed up their search. Their footsteps echoed throughout the dark storehouse. They waved their flashlights around them, hoping to find their friends before it was too late. Suddenly, the flashlights went out, and Drew and Violet were in complete darkness.

"Hey! What's going on?! Why aren't they working?!" Drew asked, about to reach his boiling point. Just then, a dark chuckle echoed in the blackness.

"Why don't you light a fire and find out?" the voice snickered. Drew raised his hand in the air and created a torch out of his fist. The fire bathed the area with light, and an extremely bizzare and frightening sight met his and Violet's eyes.

The fire revealed a towering shadow against the wall. It had the shape of a tall figure in a trenchcoat wearing a fedora hat, and it had red, glowing eyes. "I'll bet you're _dying_ to know what I want with you and your friends. I'll take you to them, and you'll be able to leave with them, but not without paying the exit fee." The shadow then peeled itself off the wall and began to spin around them. The two felt their feet leave the ground. It spun faster and faster until it became a blur.

When it finally stopped, they felt the concrete floor beneath their feet, but they were so dizzy from the trip that they wobbled around, Violet crashing into Drew and knocking them both to the floor. When Drew's vision evened out, he lit his hand on fire again and found that he could not have ended up in a more awkward position: right on top of his girlfriend. Drew grinned sheepishly, but Violet was not amused. "Off, Drew," she grumbled. "Now is not the time for flirting."

Drew, though, just narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Admit it. You like this."

"NO. Get OFF! You're just like your mom said your dad was when they first met." Drew obeyed and scrambled a few feet off, a little disappointed.

"Drew? Violet?" a voice croaked in the darkness.

"Reed!" Violet and Drew both shouted. "Where are you?"

"SHHHHHHHH!" Reed's voice whispered shakily. "You have to... get out of here!"

"Why?" Violet demanded. "We came here for the hostages. We're not leaving without them!"

"Reed, you don't sound so good," Drew pointed out. "What's wrong?"

"You heard that... gunshot, right?"

"Yeah?"

"That was Agent I. He... shot me..."

"What?! Where?!"

"In the back... I think it hit my spine... I... I can't feel my legs," Reed's voice moaned. "You... have to leave."

"We can't!" Violet said again. "The hostages are still here and you need help!"

"But... he's here!"

"Who's here?!" Drew asked, feeling he already knew.

"One, two, three, four, five, six Nightprowlers," boomed the same voice they had heard earlier. "Good, we're all here! Now let's get down to business, shall we?"

Just then the lights flickered on to reveal their surroundings. It looked like they were probably in the place where Violet's family used to make the teas. It was a small, circular room bordered by wooden shelves full of empty jars. There were machines everywhere that looked like they could be for grinding, blending, and other tea making processes. "What?" Violet asked, thoroughly confounded at the sudden lack of darkness. "I thought the lights wouldn't turn on!"

"Forget the lights, look!" Drew cried, pointing ahead of them. Tied up to a pole and looking pretty bruised were Nick and Reed, along with Emma and Lex. Standing over them with his back turned was none other than Xavier, alongside a figure in a brown trenchcoat and black fedora hat. When he turned around to face them and took off his hat, Violet screamed.

* * *

It was Ivan.

"TRAITOR!" Drew yelled angrily.

Ivan chuckled darkly again. "Actually, I'm not a traitor. In order for me to be a traitor, I would have had to be on your side at one point and would have to be on the opposite side now. That is not the case. I am actually on nobody's side. That is, nobody's but my own. You see, I'm a double agent."

"And you, Xavier?" Violet asked, turning to the bully. "What made you turn against us?"

Xavier shrugged. "Ivan has more power. I'd rather be on a team that can win, even if I can't be the leader. And besides, Ivan promised no rules if I joined him."

"He's my right hand, now," Ivan told them, smirking.

Drew and Violet took fighting stances, the former with his katana and the latter with her war fans. Their foes laughed. "You think you can defeat me?" Ivan scoffed. "I can control shadows!" He thrust his hands out in front of him and clenched his fists. Drew and Violet were lifted off their feet by dark shapes behind them. Ivan had turned their own shadows against them. Violet kicked her feet, but her shadow kept a firm grip on her. "Sorry, but you can't hurt something that has no form," Ivan sneered.

"We aren't scared of you!" Drew raged.

"Fine then," Ivan shrugged, "Perhaps this will be scarier?" There was a flash in Violet's vision, and suddenly she was back at the old monastery. Her mother was making lemon tea in the kitchen, and the aroma carried into the hallway where Violet was standing. She followed the scent, and there was her mother, arms outstretched to her. Violet ran at her, but just as she was about to leap into the hug, a hole opened up at her mother's feet, and she vanished down it, her shrill scream ringing in Violet's ears. Then in another flash, she was back in the processing room, still being held by her shadow. She looked over at her boyfriend. His forehead was shining with sweat, and he was breathing heavily. It looked like he had seen something awful, too.

"If you're still not scared, how about this?" Ivan asked. He spun around once, and the most hideous sight met their eyes. It was a monster, the likes of which they had never seen. It was all black, and had long, pointy spines all along its back, a scaly body, three thick claws which could rip through the skin on each of its four feet, and wings and a tail like a dragon. It turned its head around to meet them, revealing a face like a wolf, with a mouth bearing sharp teeth dripping with saliva. It flashed its red, cat-like eyes at them, stood up on its hind legs, and cackled like a hyena. Then it spun around, and it was Ivan once more.

"You have the same power set as the Dragon Queen!" Violet gasped.

"The who?" Drew asked, not recognizing the name.

"The Dragon Queen was a powerful evil sorceress who was known for being able to control shadows, create illusions, and turn into a monster," Violet explained.

"Yes," Ivan continued, "and she was also capable of casting nasty curses and jinxes upon her enemies. She was eventually taken down by the First Spinjitzu Master at the time that his two sons were small children. Tell me, sweetheart-"

"STOP CALLING HER THAT, IVAN!" Drew yelled protectively.

"Drew, now is not the time for that!" Violet argued.

"As I was saying, Violet," Ivan continued, "have you ever wondered why your family has always had to deal with hardship? It's not a coincidence that destiny never seems to show mercy on your line. You see, the First Spinjitzu Master had defeated the Dragon Queen, but she made her dying breath a curse upon the First Spinjitzu Master and all of his descendants after him. From that moment forward, the line of the First Spinjitzu Master would never find happiness. I have the same powers because I am a descendent of hers. For years, I have been working behind the scenes to fulfill her goal: to take over Ninjago. I will do it in her name!"

"You're evil!" Violet shouted at him angrily. "I bet you could kill us all and not even blink an eye!"

Ivan motioned for her shadow to bring her over. He leaned in close. "Sweetheart, I'm not here to kill anyone, especially not you."

"Ivan, I'm warning you!" Drew cautioned.

"Drew, I can take care of myself-"

Ivan cut her off. "I'd _love_ to kill _you_ , Drew, but not today. I have other plans." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a jar of purple liquid. "Violet, my dear-"

"IVA-" Drew began, but didn't finish due to the fact that his shadow had put its hand over his mouth.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, Violet, would you be so kind as to explain to everyone what this is?"

Violet gasped. "That's the Tomorrow's Tea! The one that was missing from the shelves! You stole it!"

"Correct! And what exactly does it do?"

"It causes you to be older."

"Right again! How much older?"

"It depends on the percent concentration. Every ten percent equals one year. That jar has a yellow label, which means the concentration is fifty percent, equal to five years."

"Right once more, my sweet, and I plan to use it."

"You wouldn't dare! It would affect you too!"

"Of that I am aware. It seems you are all in quite the predicament. But your Senseis don't know that you're in trouble. Well, that will need to change. After all, the main reason I'm doing this is to spread fear of me."

Drew was trying to say something, but the shadow was still preventing him from speaking. Out of curiosity of what the fire wielder had to say, Ivan removed the hand from his mouth. "We won't let you get away with this, Ivan!" Drew yelled.

"You want to stop me from using this?" Ivan sneered, grinning evilly. "Then come and get it!"

Immediately their shadows dropped them. This was it. Ivan was fighting them for the Tomorrow's Tea. Ivan rose up in the air perched on a dark mass of smoke. Drew tried to hit him with a fireball, but he dodged it easily.

"He's too fast!" Drew shouted.

"Then we'll slow him down!" Violet answered.

"How?"

"We're surrounded by magical teas! I say we use them!" With that, Violet charged down the main isle, Drew following close behind. Suddenly Violet made a sharp right turn down one of the isles, and Drew had to skid to a quick halt before he made the turn too. Violet was grabbing jars of tea left and right, stuffing them in her bag.

"What do those do?" Drew panted.

"You'll see," Violet answered quickly, and dashed off in the direction they had come. The two gasped when they saw their enemy. He had now conjured a dragon made of black clouds, and was riding on its back.

"You wanted a fight!" Ivan shouted down at them. "I'll give you one! But I won't make it easy!"

"Neither will we!" Violet yelled back. She reached into her bag and pulled out a jar full of clear liquid. "Darkness feeds your power, so eat this!" She shook the container vigorously until it began to glow a brilliant white. She threw the jar at the dragon, and it shattered at its feet. Immediately light engulfed the beast until it shriveled up. Ivan fell to the ground, but quickly got back up again.

"You think a little light can stop me? Let me show you true power!" He raised his arm up in the air, and as he did so, a huge shadow of a hand rose up from the ground in front of them. Before Drew and Violet could react, it slammed down on them, knocking them to the floor. While Drew groaned on the ground, Violet scrambled back to her feet and reached into the bag again, this time retrieving a jar of red liquid.

"Try this!" she shot back, and hurled the jar in Ivan's direction. It smashed against the floor, and red vines sprouted from the floor. They wrapped themselves tightly around the double agent, but he simply summoned the shadows to cut them loose. Violet was reaching into her bag for another jar when it was suddenly yanked off her shoulder by another shadow. She looked up at Ivan. He was seething.

"Enough of this!" he screeched. Drew finally sat up and looked angrily at the double agent. Then, suddenly, they were once again up in the air held by their shadows. "I've lost interest in this fight. It's time for the chessmaster to make his final few moves!" Ivan removed the bottle of Tomorrow's Tea from his coat pocket. He then took out a cell phone and dialed a number. "We'll call your dad, Violet. I'm dying to know what his reaction to all this will be, you know, since he was forced to grow up too fast, too. I can't wait to hear what he has to say about his kids having to go through what he had to. I'll put it on speaker, so we can all hear it."

* * *

Lloyd was in his office, trying not to worry too much about the rescue team - or Ivan for that matter. A few days ago it was discovered that he was missing, too. Suddenly his cell phone began to ring. The sensei looked at the number. It wasn't one he recognized. Should he answer it? Was it safe? He hesitated for a moment, then decided that it may be news about the mission, so he went ahead and pressed the button to answer it. "Hello?" he asked tentatively. The voice that answered was one he never expected to hear again.

"Sensei! Glad you picked up. I was afraid you would miss the call."

"Ivan?!" Lloyd gasped. "Where have you been? You disappeared without a trace!"

"Never mind that. I'm calling about your kids and their friends."

"What about them?" Lloyd didn't like the tone of voice he was using...

"I'm the one who's holding them captive."

"WHAT?!"

"Yes, Sensei. I am Agent I. I'm the chessmaster behind all of this. I have been playing on both sides of the chessboard, manipulating all of the pieces, both good and bad, and now I've maneuvered my way through this game and have finally cornered your king."

Lloyd was speechless. A person they had trusted was really a double agent.

"Anyway," Ivan spoke casually, "I'm here with all the hostages and the people in your rescue team, who are now my captives as well."

"What do you want, Ivan?" Lloyd asked desperately. "I'll give you anything you ask for. Just don't hurt them!"

Suddenly a voice in the background came through. "Dad! Don't show weakness! It's what he wants!"

"Violet! You let her go, Ivan!"

"Lloyd?" The office door opened to reveal the six other Senseis. It was Nya who had spoken. "What's going on? Why are you yelling?"

"Ivan is Agent I and he's holding the hostages and our rescue team captive!"

"What?!" Jay screeched. "Is he on the phone? Put him on speaker!"

Lloyd did as he was told, and the double agent's voice was able to come through loud and clear.

"What do you want with my kid, Ivan?" Kai raged.

"Sensei Kai? And did I hear Sensei Jay as well? Everyone is there? Good! I prefer for you all to hear this!"

"Dad!" Drew's voice called. "He wants to get a reaction! Don't let him get one from you!"

"Let's get back on topic, shall we?" Ivan suggested curtly. "You see, I have a bottle of Tomorrow's Tea in my hand. According to the label, it should age everyone in this room five years. Wouldn't that be a shame, missing out on the rest of their childhood?"

"No! Don't!" Lloyd pleaded. Ivan _couldn't_ be evil enough to make six children go through the same thing he had to endure when he was forced to use Tomorrow's Tea. A dark chuckle was the only response.

"Unfortunately, Sensei Lloyd, I'm on a schedule. I've already planned out my takeover of Ninjago. Getting the Black Dragons to burn down the monastery was phase one. Aging these kids up causing you an immense amount of emotional pain will wrap up phase two. Phase three is when I actually take action. Ninjago will be mine in the next forty-eight hours."

The mood amongst the Senseis in Lloyd's office was in the negatives now. Their kids were about to be stripped of their childhood, Ninjago was about to be plunged into greater chaos, and they were miles away, incapable of doing anything to stop it. Kai and Jay were fuming, Skylor was in shock, Nya was on the verge of tears, Zane was closing his eyes sadly, Cole was starting to disappear, and Lloyd could feel the wall hiding his emotions cracking, ready to crumble at any moment. He hadn't felt this vulnerable since the night Heather was taken away from him. That was his last explosion. He could feel it was about to happen again.

"Ivan, don't do this!" Violet's voice begged.

"Sorry sweetheart, but as I said before, I'm on a schedule. With that, I think I'll just go ahead and drop this thing. So long, Sensei! Hope this hurts!"

There was a sound of breaking glass, screams and shouts, a howling wind, and an evil laugh. Then, suddenly, it all stopped. There was not a single sound on the other end. Everyone looked at Lloyd. He was frozen in his chair.

"Lloyd?" Kai asked quietly. "Are you alright?"

The green ninja tried and failed to swallow the lump in his throat. "Leave me," Lloyd managed to choke out. Everyone exited the room, leaving the head sensei alone. Only when the door was shut did he finally feel free to let out the agony that had built up inside of him. A long, sad cry rang out into the halls of the palace - a sound that could only come from a broken - no, a _shattered_ heart.

 **(A/N) Yes, he did. He aged them up. Just to cause everyone a heck of a lot of pain. So, were you right? Did you guess the right person for Agent I? Tell me in the reviews!**

 **So, my explanation for the series of unfortunate events (geddit?) that befall the line of the First Spinjitzu Master is that Lloyd's family is cursed. It all began when the Dragon Queen cursed the FSM and all his descendants. Not long afterward, Garmadon was bitten by the Great Devourerer, and, well, you all know the rest.**

 **I was going to kill off Xavier, but I realized I had promised you all that I wouldn't kill anyone. Besides, Agent I had no reason to do that. He might as well use Xavier as an ally rather than throwing him away. I think Xavier will show a little more potential in the third part as Ivan's right hand man, kind of like Pythor was to the Overlord. Even though Pythor's potential only seemed to decay as the show went on. Maybe that wasn't such a good comparison after all. Oh well.**

 **Welp, we've reached the climax! Next chapter the falling action begins as the Nightprowlers wake up and find themselves five years older! What will they look like? What will their reactions be? What will their** _ **parents'**_ **reactions be? Stay tuned to find out!**

 **Thanks to ebony umbreon, Kairocksrainbow, DragonWhisperer762, and The Mayor of Ninjago City for your reviews last chapter! And a big congratulations to AveXCninja11 for guessing Agent I's identity! I'm impressed! You guessed correctly all the way back in Chapter 1!**

 **So, tomorrow I'm heading out west on a vacation, and I won't be able to update next weekend. See you the weekend after that, I guess!**

 **Review please!**


	9. Checkmate

**(A/N) Wow. I got some strong responses to last chapter. I expected it, but I certainly didn't expect people to show up wielding chainsaws and sledgehammers. XD Don't worry! Xavier and Ivan WILL get what's coming for them. But first they have to conquer the continent. Anyway! This chapter, the Nightprowlers will wake up, find themselves five years older, and go home. As you can imagine, their parents will not be happy. And, of course, Ivan's conquest will commence...**

 **Read!**

* * *

Chapter 7

Checkmate

After the howling wind from the fumes of the Tomorrow's Tea had died, all was quiet in the processing room. It wouldn't remain that way for long however. After less than a minute, someone awoke and shattered the silence. "Is everyone okay?" Nick called out groggily. He noticed that the purple fumes had dissipated. Dust still flew through the air, and debris was scattered all over the floor. He looked around, but Ivan and Xavier were nowhere to be seen. His hands curled up into fists. Those lying, no good, dirty rotten sons of-

"Nick?" croaked Emma's voice to the left.

"Emma? You're awake?" Nick asked, his mind averted from his mental swearing.

"Yeah. Hey, we're still tied up. I think I might have a nail file in my pocket-"

"That's okay, I've got a pocket knife." Nick reached into his back pocket and pulled out the pocket knife he'd been issued as a Black Dragon agent and started sawing at the bindings. Soon, the ropes slipped off.

Suddenly Nick remembered that another one of his teammates wasn't in good shape...

"Reed! Reed, where are you?!" he yelled out, feeling panicked for once in his life. If one of his teammates died under his command...

A moan suddenly reached his ears from the right. Nick turned and found Reed, weak and pale, leaning against the pole. Nick felt his teammate's skin. He was cold. He must have lost a lot of blood.

"Where's Violet? We need a healing tea, and fast!"

"Right here," groaned a voice. Violet pushed herself up off the floor, coming face to face with Drew, who woke up at the same time. Immediately the two froze at the sight of each other. If Drew had thought Violet looked like the master of Aloe before, he was dead wrong. NOW she looked like her mother. Suddenly Drew understood why Lloyd had fallen for Heather. The girl in front of him was nothing short of heavenly, as if she were an angel who'd fallen straight out of the sky. The world around them seemed to come to a stand-still.

"Drew?"

Her voice! Oh, it was like a bell, so pure, so sweet! He felt like he'd fallen in love with Violet Garmadon all over again.

"HEY! VIOLET! DREW! GET THE HELL OVER HERE AND HELP BEFORE REED **BLEEDS** **TO DEATH!"** Nick had called upon his inner drill seargent again. Remembering that their friend had been shot, Drew and Violet quickly scurried over to the rest of their team. Once they were there, Nick got down to business. "Violet, is there a tea in here that will heal a gunshot wound?"

Violet carefully examined the wound. "It won't heal it completely, but Antihemophilic Tea will stop the blood flow," she quickly answered.

"Good. Find it as quickly as you can."

"I know exacly where it is." With that, the daughter of the green ninja dashed out of the tea processing room. In less than a minute, she returned with two jars of tea. One was a peach color, and the other was a very light green. First she dabbed the wound with the peach-colored liquid on a small cloth to clean it off. Next she poured the light green tea on the wound, and it seemed to glow as it hit Reed's skin.

"That will both stop the flow of blood and make it easier to get the bullet out," she explained. "Now, we need to call someone to get us out of here."

"Can't we just use Traveler's Tea?" Emma suggested. "It will be much quicker. I want to get my brother help as soon as possible."

"Reed is in no state to jump through a portal," Violet argued, shaking her head. "We need help to get him out of here. I'll call the Senseis."

* * *

Lloyd, Kai, Zane, Cole, and Skylor all waited at the docks of the island. It was almost midnight, and the moon was not to be seen, for clouds covered the sky. Not a single star penetrated the thick blanket that shrouded the heavens. The Senseis had recieved a message from Violet saying that they could not return home by Traveler's Tea due to Reed's current "condition". She did not elaborate on the subject, but merely said she would turn on her tracking signal so that someone could find them and pick them up. Jay and Nya had volunteered to go, and they set off into the misty waters in one of the smaller paddleboats. Five minutes ago they had recieved a call from Nya that they were on their way back with the Nightprowlers. So now Lloyd and the remaining senseis were standing outside on the docks, awaiting their return.

"Lloyd, are you alright?" Cole asked in a low voice, turning to look at his friend.

Lloyd stared straight ahead into the misty sea and gave a single, slow nod. But he was lying. Just like always. After his outburst, he'd recovered and put his mask back on so people wouldn't worry about him. Just like always. He'd dried his tears and emerged from his office, his bottle of fears and sadnesses emptied out, ready to be filled back up again. Just like always.

"I'm fine Cole," he answered calmly. "Nothing to worry about."

"Lloyd, you're crying."

"What?" Lloyd rubbed his eyes. "There must be something caught in it."

"Lloyd." Cole put a hand on the former green ninja's shoulder. "It's not a bad thing to cry every once and a while. That's what I told you all those years ago when Heather was taken away."

"And it's also not bad for people to be concered about you," Kai added. "We notice these things because we care about you. You're our brother and we're here for you."

"I may be an android," Zane put in, "but I do know that it is both unwise and unhealthy to bottle up your sorrows."

"Lloyd, whatever the problem is, just tell us," Skylor pleaded.

"Thanks guys, but I really am fine," Lloyd assured them with a fake smile.

Finally something happened that could take them off the subject. "Look, the boat's returned," Cole said, pointing out to sea with one ghostly finger. Sure enough, the paddleboat glided through the fog and pulled into the dock. Kai, Skylor, and Lloyd anxiously stepped forward, both eager and nervous to see their children. Jay appeared on the deck with the plank to bridge the gap between the boat and the dock. Once he had placed it down and made sure it was sturdy enough to walk across, he stepped over to his fellow teachers.

"How are they, Jay?" Kai asked worriedly.

The former blue ninja looked grim. "All six alive - one... not well," he sighed. It was almost unnerving, seeing the usually gleeful Jay with such dampened spirits.

"Who is it? What's wrong?" Skylor inquired.

"Reed's been shot in the back, and after taking a closer look, Nya believes it's much worse than it looks at first glance."

"Did it puncture any vitals?" Lloyd struggled to keep his voice steady.

"No," Jay refuted, "but almost as scary. Nya thinks it hit the lower part of his spinal cord. We'll need x-rays to know the full extent of his injury, but he says he can't feel his legs at all. He needs immediate care."

"Jay." Everyone looked back at the boat to see Nya crossing the plank. "They're coming." Everyone turned toward the boat as the Nightprowlers, now five years older, began to emerge out of the fog.

The first one off was Nick. Now twenty-three, he was built tall and strong, muscles almost visible underneath his gi. Most of his facial features remained the same, and he still had his raven bangs, but his green eyes seemed more matured somehow. They were more steeled and determined, as if they had a goal in mind. He stopped in front of Cole with a weary expression on his face. The sensei placed a hand on his student's shoulder.

Next was Emma. Unlike Nick, she had undergone a much bigger change. Her jet black hair was no longer shoulder-length, but reached down to her elbows with a curly texture. The pink streak in her grown-out bangs was gone, and her build was almost like a figure skater. Her posture was straight and her face mature, like the young woman she now was. The twenty-two-year-old walked over to her adoptive mother and leaned into her shoulder.

After Emma came Drew. Skylor gasped, and Kai's jaw dropped a little. Their son now looked almost identical to his father, excluding his hair and eyes, which remained brick red and amber, like his mother's. His frown was lopsided, and his eyebrows perked upward on the inside. His spikes were bigger and sharper, with natural highlights that seemed to make his hair look even more like flames. Skylor began to cry, and Drew brought her into a hug. At twenty-one, he was taller than she was now.

"My little boy..." she wept, "all grown up...why? Why, why, why?"

"Please, Mom," he begged, "don't cry. There was nothing you could have done."

Lloyd looked on sadly at his students. No, there was something they could have done. He shouldn't have let them leave. It was all his fault, like everything else. But now that he thought of it, even if he had tried to keep them from leaving, they would have found a way to get out anyway. Violet showed that resolve to him before she left.

"Dad?"

Speaking of his daughter...

Lloyd whirled around and did a double take. It was as though he was looking at a person from the past. Was that Violet walking across the plank toward him, or the ghost of his wife? This young woman looked exactly like the one who had saved him from certain death more than twenty years ago. There was that angelic face, and that long black hair that fell down in twisting waves. Heather would sometimes wear her hair down like that instead of in her usual bun. But as she drew closer, he recognized his own green eyes, not Heather's hazel ones, staring back at him. This was his daughter, twenty-one years old. Lloyd couldn't hold his tears back anymore. He broke down, sinking to the ground. Violet rushed over to her father, silent tears rolling down her own cheeks. Placing her hands on his shaking shoulders, she sighed. "Dad, I know you're putting the blame on yourself again. Don't."

"We shouldn't have... sent you all away..."

"If we hadn't gone, Emma and Lex would be killed."

"But... I could have... held _you_ back... but I didn't... I let you go with them..."

"I told you I'd grow up someday."

"But... I didn't... want it to... happen like this!"

"None of us did. But I know why it did. Dad, we've been cursed. Our whole family was. The First Spinjitzu Master had an enemy called the Dragon Queen. I read about her in a book. She cursed our family to never find happiness."

 _Well,_ Lloyd thought bitterly, _that explains my whole life._

"Father, don't cry," an entirely different voice pleaded.

Lloyd looked up and gasped. Standing behind Violet was his son. While the other Nightprowlers were all grown up, Lex was now the age at which he was just starting to leave childhood behind. At twelve years, he was just a little older than Lloyd was when he himself was aged up. Between boyhood and adolescence, his face was starting to take on the shape of his father's. His eyes, with their hazel irises that came from his mother, still sparkled with childish curiousity, yet carried a budding maturity. Even his hair was starting to change from loose and windswept to a sleeker, more wavy look that curled just slightly outward at the tips. He looked like he was in the middle of the stage that Lloyd himself missed. Lloyd also noted that his son had actually talked in the presence of people to whom he normally wouldn't dare to utter a single word. Perhaps the jump in age had given him a jump in what he was socially capable of.

Suddenly Emma looked up at Jay. "Is Reed well enough to be moved?" she asked.

"Yes," the former blue ninja replied. "Cole, come help me. This is a two man job." The two senseis disappeared into the boat for a moment, then came back carrying a stretcher. On it was an eighteen-year-old boy who looked very pained. Reed was very pale, probably from blood loss, making his freckles stand out. His facial features were more pointed than before, and he was much taller. The lower part of his torso was wrapped in bandages, and he was strapped down to prevent movement.

"Zane," Jay called over to the nindroid while carrying the back end of the stretcher, "come with us. Nya already removed the bullet, but we need to get some x-rays of him right away." With that, the Senseis of Ice, Earth, and Lightning rushed into the palace with Reed.

"Let's go in too," Nya suggested. "You guys still need to tell us exactly what happened down there."

* * *

The Senseis and Nightprowlers (except for Reed) were sitting down in Lloyd's office, where just hours before the Senseis had heard the final moments of the captives' and their rescue team's childhoods over the phone. Zane was not present, as he was still taking care of Reed. Skylor had made them all some hot noodle soup, and everyone listened as the students told their tale.

"...And that's when he threw the Tomorrow's Tea and the purple smoke engulfed us all," Drew finished.

"That's so terrible," Nya sniffed as Jay put an arm around her.

"It felt like someone was tugging on all of my limbs," Violet described.

"But what happened when you woke up?" Cole questioned.

"Well, things weren't so swell..." Nick began. He told them what happened, from the moment they woke up to the part where Violet called home.

Suddenly Emma fell out of her seat, clutching her head. She cried out in anguish as another vision began to formulate in her head, this time looking more vivid and realistic than ever...

* * *

 _Emma looked around. She was standing in the streets of Ninjago City, the night being lit up by the neon signs and giant tv screens. Suddenly she spotted two figures walking down the sidewalk. She didn't know why, but she felt the urge to follow them. As she got closer, she recognized them as Ivan and Xavier. She crept up behind them, and noticed that they were completely oblivious to her presence. She must be like a phantom in this vision._

 _"So, Ivan-" Xavier started, but his new boss turned to him with an incredulous look._

 _"Did you just call me 'Ivan'?" he asked with an eyebrow raised._

 _"I-I'm sorry. What should I call you?"_

 _"Well, shortly, you will be calling me 'your highness'."_

 _"Really? Why's that?"_

 _"Because, my new number two, we are about to change Ninjago forever. I will take over and establish Ninjago's first empire in millenia!"_

 _"Wow," Xavier breathed. He looked like he was pretty sure he'd made the right decision to join this guy. "But, uh, isn't Vladomir the dictator right now?"_

 _Ivan simply laughed. "Yes, but what we are about to do tonight will change all of that. You see, I have been acting as a loyal underling to Vladomir, when really, I am his greatest threat."_

 _"Really?"_

 _"Yes," Ivan replied. Grinning, he reached into a pocket of his cloak and pulled out a dagger. "I've been waiting for more than a year for this moment."_

 _Suddenly, they turned a corner, and came face to face with a street guard. Before he said anything, Ivan just held up an identification card. The guard seemed satisfied, but he still pointed to Xavier and said, "Who's he?"_

 _"Oh, he's with me," Ivan explained simply._

 _The guard nodded and waved them onward. Once again, Emma went unnoticed, and she moved on with them. Suddenly Ivan and Xavier turned a corner, and there stood Borg Tower. They entered the building, with Emma close behind. She followed them into the elevator, and watched as Ivan pushed the button for the one hundredth floor. When the door opened, the two young men exited into the office, with Emma close behind. She gasped when she saw none other than Vladomir Chovin, her and her team's old boss, sitting at the desk. He looked up from some paperwork, and a look of surprise on his face soon turned to slight confusion._

 _"Ah, Agent I," Vladomir acknowledged suspiciously. "I wasn't expecting you." The dictator's eyes shifted to Xavier. "Who is your friend?"_

 _"This is Xavier. He is my second-in-command."_

 _Vladomir raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you need a second-in-command?"_

 _"Never mind that. I'm here for more important things. Vladomir, you have been a fool."_

 _"Excuse me?"_

 _"I have never been working for you. You put far too much trust in me. And now you will pay the price."_

 _"What are you saying?"_

 _"I'm saying..." Ivan took out the dagger and threw it. It hit Vladomir square in the chest. "...checkmate."_

 _Emma couldn't believe it. She opened her mouth and..._

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Emma screamed as she was yanked back into reality.

"Emma! What's wrong?" Nick asked, deeply concered.

Emma was hypervenalating. "Ivan... he killed... Vladomir... He's... turning Ninjago... into... an empire!"

"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed at once.

"Impossible!" Nya cried. "The last dynasty ended thousands of years ago at the end of the Age of the Stone Warrior!"

"But that's what I saw in this vision. He and Xavier... killing Vladomir... taking over."

They had no reason to doubt it. Every one of Emma's visions had come true up to this point. They just hadn't been so literal, always having been cryptic or unclear in the past. Everyone in the room was quiet as they all looked to Lloyd.

"Dad," Violet whispered, "what are we going to do?"

Lloyd only sighed. "I don't know. I don't know."

* * *

Back in Black Dragon Tower, Xavier dragged Vladomir's body into a corner of the room as Ivan looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the streets below. He then sat down in the chair that was now his. He pressed a button on the desk, and the largest screen in the room flickered to life. The face of Trenton Carson, Vladomir's old assistant, came into focus.

"Agent I? Is that you?" the runty man asked, squinting at the double agent through his glasses.

Ivan leaned back in the chair and smirked. "Yes, Carson, it's me. And I've succeeded in killing Vladomir. Ninjago is ours. I must thank you for your cooperation. You made the right decision to join me. As promised, you are my new advisor."

A satisfied expression spread across Carson's face. "It was my pleasure, Agent I. Or perhaps I should call you something else now?"

"In a few hours, 'your highness' is what you'll be calling me, once my takeover is underway."

"Very well. I'll contact General Gildman. I've already briefed him on the situation, and he's told me he'd be happy to reorganize the agency into your new army, as long as you promise to put him in charge of defense under your reign."

"Excellent! Turning this country into my empire will be so much easier that way. Tell the General he has a deal."

"I will."

"Oh, and Carson? One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Tell the General this will be a _civil_ takeover. I want to look like a savior, not another ruthless dictator like Vladomir was."

Carson raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't expecting that from you, Agent I. Why be civil about this?" he asked in disbelief.

"Because, Carson, if I am a hated ruler, there will eventually be a rebellion, probably stirred up by the Ninja. But if I look like the hero that saved them from the Black Dragon reign, they will see no reason to get rid of me."

Carson smiled at this. "Agent I, you always were a clever one. I'll make sure General Gildman knows of your plan."

"Thank you, Carson. Call me again once our army has established a hold on Ninjago."

With that, the screen went black. Agent I closed his eyes. Finally, after years of plotting and working behind the scenes, he'd accomplished his goal of becoming ruler of Ninjago. No one, not even the Ninja, could stop him now.

* * *

 **(A/N) We'll see about that, Ivan. You've got an angry mob of reviewers after you, led by JayFan67 and Kairocksrainbow, wielding chainsaws and sledgehammers. XD**

 **Thanks to Titanium Jay and Electro Zane, ebony umbreon, JayFan67, Kairocksrainbow, AveXCninja11, DragonWhisperer762, ninjagirl99204, and The Mayor of Ninjago City for your reviews last chapter! And an extra special thank you goes to JayFan67 for jogging my imagination in our PM conversation!**

 **In other news, my vacation was AWESOME! We got to see Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, the Grand Tetons, Sioux Falls, Garden of the Gods, and more! It was GREAT to have a break from my little bros; they were at camp.**

 **Another great thing is that I figured out what the Nightprowler's theme song is. X-Men: First Class, "True Colors". And Ivan's theme is X-Men: First Class, "Magneto". Go listen to them. THEY'RE PERFECT.**

 **Review please!**


	10. Helpless

**(A/N) Hi everyone! I am so, so sorry that you all had to wait so long for this chapter. I had stupid writer's block, I had absolutely no creative juice in me for the longest time. I had to work really hard to get the rough draft of this thing done, not to mention the rest of the drafts, but I'm SO glad I finally churned it out for you all! Unfortunately, things are NOT going to be looking up in this chapter, as we're going to find out the reality of Reed's condition, as well as see Ivan's takeover. And it turns out Ivan is a big fat liar about not coming back for any more visits to the island…**

 **I'm also going to call my parts separate books from now on. Neverender was book one, 21st Century was book two, and We Are Ninjago will be book three.**

 **As I finish the final draft of this chapter, I am IN MY DORM ROOM FOR COLLEGE. Now that I am in college, I don't know how long it will take to finish my chapters. I will still update on weekends, but I don't know how far those weekends will be apart from each other. I can tell you this though: this book does not finish on a happy note. Quite the opposite. No, no deaths, but it's still gonna hurt and you're all gonna hate Ivan even more. The third book, however, DOES end on a happy note. And to the angry mob of reviewers after Ivan, you WILL be satisfied. :)**

 **Read!**

* * *

Chapter 8

Helpless

It had only been one day since Ivan had killed Vladomir. The stars had finally come out in the dark sky. In Black Dragon Tower, Xavier walked into the penthouse office as soon as the elevator doors opened. "Your highness?" he asked.

Ivan was standing in his office watching all the agents, now his royal guard, herding people into the streets. He turned around when he heard Xavier call him. "Yes, Xavier?" he responded pleasantly. He was in a good mood tonight. Even he had been surprised how well his plan had worked. He had not been expecting so many people in the agency to be on board with his plan for domination. Of course, he certainly was not complaining. The more people on his side, the smoother the process of turning the dictatorship into an empire would be.

"It's time to make your address to the people," his right hand informed him.

"Ah, well, we mustn't keep them waiting!" Ivan walked briskly to his desk as the second elevator opened, revealing a camera crew. They bustled over with their equipment, quickly set it all up, and focused the camera on the new ruler sitting at his desk.

Outside in Ninjago City, all the numerous screens flickered on to reveal Ivan. All across Ninjago, TVs, computers, cell phones, all electronic screens flashed to his "concerned" expression. Everyone in Ninjago listened as their new leader made himself and his intentions known.

"Greetings, people of Ninjago. My name is Ivan. You are probably wondering where your dictator Vladomir is. Not to worry. He has been taken care of. Rejoice, for his reign of cruelty is over. You no longer have to worry about his soldiers searching your houses without permission. You no longer have to fear breaking one of his terribly strict rules. You no longer need to be afraid that your children won't come home at night. Now, I am in charge.

"You may be wondering where the Ninja have gone. I am sorry to bring you devastating news. They fled the country, leaving you to suffer under Vladomir's reign for one whole year of violence and tyranny. I have seen them. They have no intentions of coming back anytime soon. They have given up. It's hypocrisy; they tell everyone to never give up, yet they themselves gave up a whole year ago.

"After seeing so much devastation here, I decided I must do something. I organized a coup, and succeeded in overthrowing this dictatorship. What now, you ask? Not to worry. I am at this very moment organizing an empire for your safety and security. You will find I will be very a benevolent ruler. Just abide by my simple rules, and you will enjoy comfortable lives. This is my promise to you: I will bring Ninjago into a new golden age as your emperor. Ninjago will become the greatest civilization in the world. I look forward to a great future together. Goodnight."

With that, the camera turned off, and Ivan stood up from his chair. The camera crew packed up their equipment and headed out the elevator doors. When they had closed behind them, Ivan turned to Xavier.

"Xavier," he called, grabbing his right hand's attention. "It has occurred to me that I may need some more help besides you."

"What kind of help?" Xavier asked, curious to know what his boss meant.

"Although I possess formidable powers over shadows, I still believe I should surround myself with a circle of people who wield other abilities."

"What did you have in mind?"

"So far, I only know of one person I'd like to put to work, though he will be a trifle reluctant, and will possibly need some... encouragement. I can take care of that."

"When?"

"Let's see," Ivan murmured. He seemed to be talking to himself. "Typically, how long is it until they can be moved? Six weeks, maybe? Yes, that'll do." Then he turned back to Xavier. "In six weeks, I will go fetch him. In the meantime, I want you to conduct a search throughout Ninjago for people who possess remarkable abilities of some sort - elemental or otherwise - and recruit them. While you are doing that, I will make myself busy with turning this dictatorship into my empire."

"How many people do you need?"

Ivan thought for a moment. "I want four people total. You're already here, so that makes one already. Find two more." With that, Ivan went to the elevator, pressed the button, and stepped in. "Remember, I'll take care of the last one." He reminded Xavier before the doors slowly slid shut.

* * *

Drew turned the TV off in disgust and plopped himself back down on the couch next to Nick, Violet, Emma, and Lex. They had just watched Ivan's speech, and the whole thing seemed to be the double agent rubbing the fact that he's won into the Ninja's faces. The newly aged fire master was seething, and he was pretty sure he wasn't the only one. The other Nightprowlers had dark looks in their eyes. Well, except for Lex. He was working on a Rubik's Cube, and looked like he was determined to get all the little colored squares into their places. His eyes were squinted in full concentration, and he seemed like he was in his own little world again.

"That power hungry son of a-" Nick began furiously.

 _"Language,_ Nick," Emma interrupted quickly. "We're all angry, but that's no reason to act rude."

"I can't believe he thinks he can turn Ninjago into an empire!" Drew burst angrily. "How can he? The last dynasty ended so long ago. I don't know how he's going to revive all that. Besides, this is the modern age. People aren't going to want to go back to the old ways."

"The answer is simple," Lex responded calmly as he continued to play with the Rubik's Cube. "Ivan is turning Ninjago into a _modern_ empire. He will create an empirical government, but instead of returning to old customs and traditions, he will keep much of the modern developments in society, like technology, culture, and means of transportation. Perhaps he'll even support the advancement of those things. It's a way for him to give the impression that he is a good ruler. He can gain much support using this tactic."

"Couldn't have come up with a better answer myself," Violet regarded her brother's explanation. "But how do we stop this? There has to be a way."

"I don't know if there is, Vi," Drew answered sadly. "If people _do_ start to like him, no one will see any reason for a rebellion. They may even speak out _against_ such a development in their society. I hate to say it, but we're pretty helpless right now."

"It may seem impossible for us, Violet, but sometimes people just prefer to be told what to do," Lex added.

"After a terrible period in their lives, people will accept any change, because they think things can't get any worse," Emma put in.

"But where there's power, there's also corruption," Nick countered. "Maybe some people will still remain loyal to the idea of freedom."

"Maybe, but perhaps they'd be too afraid to rise up against a government as big as an empire," Lex considered.

"I guess we're between a rock and a hard place," Drew grumbled. "I really hate Ivan."

They sat in silence for a moment. Then Nick asked, "Hey Emma, how's your brother?"

The new ice master sighed. "Still recovering. Sensei Zane and Nya are still studying the x-rays."

 _"Still?"_ Drew asked, looking at her incredulously.

"Yes. It takes a very long time to figure out where exactly the injury is, how bad it really is, what the treatment should be, arranging rehab - it's a long process. Sensei Zane estimated that it would take at least six weeks to work everything out."

"Reed's really gonna hate that," Drew said with a grimace.

"I know." Nick agreed. "He likes the fastest and most efficient way to the solution. It's the lighting in him."

"He does have some patience," Emma pointed out defensively. "He is a hacker, and you need patience for that."

Drew gave a small chuckle. "Yes, but he saves his patience almost _exclusively_ for hacking and technology. He finds it _fun,_ and to him it's worth the waiting. If he needs to be in some wheelchair from now on, he's _not_ going to be happy."

* * *

 _Six weeks later..._

Reed lay in his bed in the medical wing, awaiting the results from Sensei Zane's x-rays of his injuries. It had been six long, boring weeks of surgery, testing, and recovery. Why the heck it took so long to figure out exactly what was wrong with him was a mystery to Reed. Nobody would tell him anything, but through the door to the hallway he could hear bits and pieces of conversation. Phrases like "vertebrae dislocated", "complete injury", "loss of motor functions", and "thoracic nerves" floated through the door. Though he had no idea what most of them meant, from what he could decipher, it didn't sound good. Having gone through the surgical part of his treatment already, he was now told to rest and "try not to move too much". How much "too much" was, Reed had no idea. So he just opted to stare at the ceiling and find patterns in the speckled tiles. So far he'd found three smiley faces, two horses, and a messy number six. Or an upside-down nine.

Suddenly he heard the door open, and Zane, Jay, Nya, and finally Emma walked in, all wearing gloomy faces. "Alright Reed, do you want the good news first, or the bad news?" Nya asked. "Unfortunately, there will be more bad news than good news."

"I could really use some good news right about now," Reed mumbled in a glum tone.

"The good news is, you will have normal arm and hand functions," Zane explained. "Now here is the bad news. You have suffered a complete injury in your thoracic T4 and T5 nerves of your spinal cord, resulting in paraplegia."

"I suffered a what in my what, resulting in what?" Reed asked cluelessly, having no idea what Sensei Zane was talking about. But from the looks on his sister's and his adoptive parents' faces, he could tell it was nothing good.

"A complete injury means you have no sensation or ability to move below the area where you were shot," Zane clarified. "The thoracic nerves are a collection of twelve nerves in your spinal cord. Paraplegia is the loss of all ability to move your legs. I'm sorry Reed, but you will be living in a wheelchair from now on."

Suddenly time seemed to slow around Reed almost to a stand-still. His senses seemed to shut down. Zane might have been talking, but Reed didn't hear. Nya might have been squeezing his hand, but he didn't feel it. All he was aware of were his thoughts racing around his head at the speed of his element. Lost all ability to move his legs? But that meant... he couldn't walk? He couldn't even stand up? Reed found himself making a mental checklist of all the things he couldn't do anymore. No more improving his fighting skills. No more doing Spinjitzu. No more going on missions with the Nightprowlers. People would probably make fun of him. His friends would feel uncomfortable around him. He'd need assistance with so many things, like reaching objects in high places. He'd need special equipment to do easy, everyday tasks, like going up staircases by himself. He felt so... helpless.

 _What am I going to do now?_ Reed thought sadly.

Later that night, when all was quiet in the palace, Reed lay awake in his bed, his mind spinning. He was paralyzed from the waist down. And he would never walk again for the rest of his life.

 _Paralyzed._

He never thought a simple word could cause so much pain. Figuratively, of course. He couldn't feel a thing below his waist.

Emma had come to visit him before lights out. _"Everything's going to be fine,"_ she'd assured him.

 _"Sis, I'm paralyzed. I'm never gonna walk again. How is that fine?"_ Reed had answered bitterly.

 _"Reed, listen to me. I know you're upset and I am too. We're going to try and make things as normal as possible for you. Sure, things will be... different, but listen. Sensei Lloyd once told me that nothing happens by accident. Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the most ugly things can be turned into something beautiful. Just give yourself time. You have to find yourself again."_

 _"I already have."_ he snapped back. _"I'm a paraplegic. That's just... who I am now."_

Reed sighed as the memory came to a close. He looked over at his new wheelchair by his bed. It was ugly, even for a wheelchair. No paint or anything, it was just a normal wheelchair. Dull and unsatisfying, like his life would be from now on.

Suddenly there was a bump outside on the balcony. Reed started. The doors were closed, so he couldn't see anything. But not for long. They burst open, revealing a tall figure in a trenchcoat and fedora. Reed was completely overtaken by fear. He felt like his whole body was paralyzed now; he couldn't even find his voice to call for help.

Ivan stepped inside and looked around. "It's a long flight from Ninjago City to here, even for my beast form," he remarked casually, almost like he was commenting about the weather.

Reed gathered what little courage he had left and found his voice again. "W-what do you want with me?" he managed to croak.

"With you? Oh, there's a ton of things I want from you, but you're going to have to come with me." He was still using that calm voice. Somehow it seemed more chilling than if he was using a more menacing tone.

"I-I thought you weren't coming back. Th-that's what you said in your note."

"Well, I've changed my mind. I need your talents."

Suddenly a surge of anger pulsed through Reed's veins. "I'm paralyzed!" he snarled. "I can't do anything anymore! You saw to that in the tea storehouse! I'm not doing anything for you!"

Ivan held his hands up in a surrendering position. "I know what I did. But you wouldn't stop squirming, so you are partly at fault."

"I AM NOT-"

"But this is not the best place to talk. We'll go to my new place, shall we?"

"Please... don't take me away..."

Ivan only shrugged. "Sorry, Reed. I need to."

"HELP!" Reed cried out, but it was too late. Ivan turned into the flying monster and snatched him out of the bed. Without the ability to move his legs, Reed could only struggle with his upper body. But the beast was too strong. No matter what Reed did, he simply could not escape its claws. Helpless to escape his situation, he found himself being dragged across the floor to the open doors to the balcony. Suddenly an unexpected thought crossed his mind: his last conversation with his sister. Looking back, he realized he'd been so cold with her. He'd been so caught up in his current state, he'd rejected her offers for help. Remorse washed over him as he realized that he might never be able to tell Emma he was sorry, or to even say goodbye.

* * *

Emma sat on the white sandy beach, dressed in a white and blue short kimono, breathing in the salty sea air at sunset. Her eyes closed, she listened to the crashing of the waves and tried to relax. But it was impossible. Her brother was just kidnapped two days ago. Hearing a cry for help coming from the medical wing, the ninja had rushed to the rescue. Unfortunately, they were too late. They had found the bed empty, sheets hanging over the side of the bed, wheelchair folded up, balcony doors wide open. It looked like he had simply been dragged right out of bed and into the night. Emma had been so overcome with grief she had locked herself in her room for a whole day, letting no one in. She had cried for hours, wondering if she'd ever see her brother again.

Emma opened her eyes and watched the waves creep up the sandy shore, then trickle backwards into the sea, only for the cycle to continue. She stood up, took off her sandals, and walked toward the water. She stopped where the waves could reach her ankles. She looked down and watched the ebbing tides wash over her feet. As the water was sucked back into the ocean, her toes and heels sank into the wet sand.

"Been looking for you."

Emma turned and saw Nick walking down the beach toward her. He stopped next to her and looked out to sea.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he commented, regarding the sun slowly sinking into the ocean. "I always loved sunset." Emma didn't say anything. She simply resumed staring blankly out to sea, so Nick kept talking.

"When I was a kid, before I came to the Ninja's monastery, I was pickpocket. Did you know that?" He paused, waiting for a response. Emma didn't answer, however, so he went on. "Sunset was my favorite time of day. At the end of the day, all the boys would return to the hideout with their day's loot. Money was good, but food was better. We would all gather around the table and eat dinner together, laughing about funny stories. But the best part of the evening was when we came out of the hideout to watch the sunset on the top of the hill in a park just outside of the city.

"Unfortunately, sometimes we'd do a headcount only to find that one of us was missing. Those days were hard on us all. Sometimes they would eventually turn up, exhausted but glad to be home. But sometimes someone would go missing and never return. We never found out what happened to them. Were they caught? Were they killed? We never knew, and that's what was scariest. But we knew that we couldn't dwell on it forever, and we always had each other to rely on."

"What are you saying?" Emma asked, at last turning her head away from the vast ocean to look at him.

Nick turned to her with a look of understanding. "I'm saying that we all feel grief over Reed right now, but we can't mope about it for too long. We need to eventually move on."

Emma turned her head away from her teammate in an attempt to hide her tears. Nick placed an arm around her shoulders. After a moment's hesitation Emma leaned into his broad chest and listened to his heartbeat. The gentle thuds somehow calmed her. "We'll find him, Emma," he assured her. "One day, we'll find him."

* * *

 **(A/N) Well well well. We may just be seeing a new ship here! This will be an important plot device in the third book, when we finally get around to true potentials…. Speaking of which, a huge THANK YOU goes to JayFan67 for helping me with ideas for true potentials in the third book! I've revised and expanded a few of them to fit the general plot of the story, hope that's okay!**

 **Another cool thing is I HAVE A FACEBOOK PAGE! It's called INFJ writer. Make sure you get the space between "INFJ" and "writer". Like my page!**

 **Thanks to AveXCninja11, The Mayor of Ninjago City, SnowflakeShard, Kairocksrainbow, and ebony umbreon for your reviews last chapter!**

 **Make sure to check out my new poll on who your favorite Nightprowler is! It's possible that the winner will get their true potential first in the next book! PLEASE vote, don't assume that other people will, because in the past I haven't had much success with polls. And as always, review!**


	11. Conclusion

**(A/N) Hello again! Book 2 is finally drawing to a close! I must admit, this is perhaps the best ending to any fic I have ever written. Not because it's necessarily happy, because it isn't, but because it makes you really think. This is a record-setting fanfic for me, because it has surpassed every other fic I have written in all aspects except for number of views. I don't know if** _ **We Are Ninjago**_ **will be able to live up to** _ **21st Century Ninja's**_ **legacy! There were times I almost left this fic to rust but I kept going for all you wonderful, dedicated readers! Now for the final lap of this fic! Read on!**

* * *

Conclusion

The heavy door opened, and light flooded into the small, dark cell where a scrawny seventeen-year-old boy sat chained to the wall. _Why_ he was chained to the wall, he didn't know, since he was incapable of moving anyway. Reed blinked in the sudden lack of darkness. A brawny guard stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the light.

"What?" Reed asked grumpily.

"The emperor requires your presence."

"Oh, so he's emperor already, is he?"

"Quit it with the smartness and get up."

"He didn't tell you? I'm paralyzed from the waist down. I can't walk, much less stand."

The guard turned to yell over his shoulder. "Hey! We need a wheelchair in cell 013!" After a minute or two, another guard showed up with the wheelchair. Once Reed was seated properly, they wheeled him out of the cell.

As they made the trip upstairs, Reed realized where he was. This place was Borg's Tower, but now they had turned it into a real palace. Dark drapings and banners hung from the walls and windows, and the were now grand chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling. Priceless jewels and artifacts sat in glass display cases, and everywhere he looked, Reed saw nothing but grandeur.

They eventually arrived at the one hundredth floor. Once in the large office, Reed's escort left him and went back down the elevator. Reed wheeled himself into the middle of the room and examined his surroundings. The office had been converted into a real throne room. The technology was gone. Banners and curtains lined the walls. Torches lit the room with an eerie glow. A look outside the floor-to-ceiling windows told him it was late at night. The tall ceiling sported a skeletal black chandelier, and a red carpet led to the desk, which seemed to be the only thing that they left untouched when they renovated the room. At first Reed thought he was alone. Then a familiar voice spoke. It seemed to come from everywhere in the room, so Reed couldn't identify the location of the source.

"Reed. I have been waiting anxiously for an opportunity to talk. At last I have it."

"Cut the chit chat," Reed snapped. "What do you want?"

Ivan let out a dark chuckle. Then the chair at the desk turned around and the new ruler appeared sitting in it. "Like I said before," he told him, "I need your talents."

Reed narrowed his eyes. "What talents are you talking about?" he asked.

"You're the best hacker in Ninjago. You are a gifted inventor. I could use someone like you."

"I'm not helping you with anything!"

Ivan sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that. I guess I'll have to give you some encouragement."

"You can't force me to do anything!"

The emperor leaned over the desk. "Listen, Reed. Has it yet occurred to you that I know where you live? And that now that I have an entire army of agents at my command, I can invade the island and hunt down and kill every man, woman, and child who lives there? And you would be back in that prison cell, unable to move."

Reed's eyes widened in disbelief. "Y-you wouldn't," he stammered.

"Oh yes I would. One simple command is all it takes."

Reed thought of all the innocent people on that island. His friends, the people he'd grown up with. His sister, the only person left in his family. He didn't think he could bear to lose them. "Please… you can't," he begged.

Ivan smirked. "Your other option is to join me. This comes with more benefits than you realize. If you accept my offer, you will be living a far more comfortable life here, and I can grant you full access to the technology to build whatever you want. A better wheelchair, perhaps? That one looks a little boring, wouldn't you agree?"

Reed did agree, but he wasn't about to admit that.

"Another benefit," Ivan continued, "is that I will leave the island untouched. No harm will come to anyone on it. All you have to do is work for me. So, do we have a deal?" The new ruler stuck out his hand.

Reed's heart raced. There was a lot to be gained from Ivan's offer. But was it the right thing to do? At first, Reed's conscience said no. But then he thought of all the people on the island, all those lives he'd be throwing away. If he refused, there would be a lot of blood on his hands. On the other hand, he could accept, saving all those innocent people. Not only that, but he would also have the tools to make his paralysis more bearable. Two parts of the Ninja code were suddenly conflicting each other.

Rule number one: A ninja never quits.

Rule number two: A ninja protects those who cannot protect themselves.

Sadness flooded into him as the answer came to him. In a contest between saving either his conscience or hundreds of lives, there really wasn't a contest at all. Slowly Reed wheeled himself forward toward the desk, knowing that what he was about to do would immediately expel him from the ninja academy. When he reached the desk, he stared at Ivan's outstretched hand, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes tightly, bracing himself, and shook it.

After Reed had drawn his hand back, he sat back in his wheelchair. He was slightly dizzy from what he'd just done. He silently watched Ivan press a button on his desk.

 _"Yes?"_ a voice crackled through a little speaker.

"Our guest has kindly agreed to my offer. Could you please prepare for his, ah, _orientation?"_

 _"Of course."_

Ivan then turned back toward Reed, smiling pleasantly. Reed narrowed his eyes.

"Is there a catch you didn't mention?" he asked accusingly.

"Well, Reed," Ivan began, "I like my helpers to be powerful. _Very_ powerful."

"And I don't fit the bill?"

"After today you will. You see, I have already gathered three other powerful people, one of which you know."

"Xavier," Reed said with distaste.

"Exactly. Each of these helpers has gone through a procedure that enhances their power."

"What procedure?"

"A mutation. It usually targets the cells that are already imbued with your elemental ability. For example, the last person we recruited was a girl we call Cortexis. She's a master of the mind, so we targeted her neurons in her brain to increase her powers."

If Reed wasn't paralyzed, he would have stood up in anger. "You're experimenting on people! You're treating them like lab rats!"

Ivan frowned. "Now, now, Reed. I wouldn't put it that harshly."

"I would," Reed snarled. "So what are you going to do to me?"

"Oh I don't know, really. That depends on what my scientists find out about you. First they have to figure out the source of your power. That doesn't take long. The hard part is figuring out how to enhance the power without killing you."

Reed was fuming. He had never hated Ivan more than he did now. He was so angry, he didn't think words could describe it. He stretched out his hands in front of him, summoning his powers. All he could think about was hurting this monster before him. But nothing came out of his hands. The lightning wouldn't come. Ivan smiled.

"That wheelchair is made of vengestone. You can try as hard as you can to fry me to a crisp. It won't work."

Suddenly the doors opened. Reed turned his wheelchair around. Two figures in lab coats were standing in the doorway. "We're ready for him, your highness."

"Well, Reed, I shall see you later, once the procedure is over," Ivan said. The two scientists wheeled Reed out of the office to a fate the lightning master could not foresee.

* * *

The only thing Reed could feel was pain like he had never experienced it before. The scientists had injected him with electrolytes, then sent volts of electricity coursing through his veins. The result had been pain everywhere in his body.

"Reed? Can you hear me?" said a voice outside the chamber where Reed lay unmoving. Reed couldn't find the strength to talk, so he just gave a small, slow nod.

"Good. Listen. My name is Dr. Steckers. You are going to be okay. We've stabilized your condition. You will need some days to recover, but in the end you'll be alright. Do you understand?"

Reed nodded again.

"Good. Now listen. We have supercharged your body cells. We tried to put a safe amount of voltage in you, but the procedure went wrong. You are now so full of electricity that your bare skin will shock people with high voltage. The only reason you have not been electrocuted to death is that because of your elemental power, your body already conducts enormous amounts of electricity without serious damage. We have managed to contain most of the electricity to your arms and hands. Unfortunately this means you must wear long gloves to prevent accidentally releasing electricity on everything you touch. Do you understand?"

Reed nodded once more.

"Good. Now in a few days your body will get used to the electricity in it. Once you're feeling well enough to get up, you can start work here. The emperor will give you your instructions. For now though, you need to rest. We'll be checking on you every once in a while. Do you understand?"

Reed nodded, but his mind was now racing. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, they had. He had never felt more awful in his life. First he was paralyzed. Next he was forced to agree to helping Ivan. Now he was dangerous to the touch. He really wished his sister was there. She'd know how to make him feel better. Now he may never see her again...

* * *

Reed got out of the medical wing faster than the doctors expected. After thorough testing the doctors attributed his quick recovery to the fact that his body functions, including healing, were now much faster due to his enhanced lightning powers. He could think faster and move quicker, too. To Reed's surprise, they also found that the electricity running through him had somehow slightly reawakened some of the dead nerves in his spinal cord. It wasn't enough to get Reed out of a wheelchair, but it did give him some sensation below his leg. His injury level had therefore gone from "complete" to "incomplete". Secretly, Reed found the utter irony of this development slightly amusing.

Unfortunately, this bit of sunshine didn't keep Reed very happy for long. Almost as soon as he got out of the medical wing, he was put to work as the Chief Inventor for the Emperor. This entailed blueprinting, modeling, and building machines and technology that would benefit the empire. These inventions would then be mass produced if necessary by workers in factories. Cyrus Borg would have had the job, but Ivan had ordered agents to hunt down and imprison the allies of the Ninja. Some had still not been found, but Borg and many of the elemental masters that the ninja had met in Master Chen's tournament were now in high security cells in Kryptarium Prison.

 _Unfortunately,_ Reed thought bitterly one night while working on a project of his own, _doing what I like to do for a person I despise defeats the pleasure I get out of the job._

It was late at night, and he should probably be getting to bed, but Reed was almost finished with his current project. This invention was something he'd been working on ever since he'd gotten out of the medical wing. It wasn't on the orders of Ivan, although the idea came from their meeting when the ruler first asked Reed to join him. Finally, the last screw was in, and Reed wheeled backward to admire the final product of his three-month-long project.

After many failures, he had finally constructed a new wheelchair for himself. It had a sleek, futuristic look to it. It was blue, with a plastic seat with a low back to it. It had four wheels, but each of them were thin disks instead of traditional wheels, minimizing resistance. Unnecessary frame parts were left out to make it lightweight. These properties made it an exceptionally fast wheelchair. But the best part about it was that it was entirely powered by his own inner electricity. Sensors on the arms would pick up electric signals to tell the wheelchair what to do, letting him essentially control it with his mind.

Reed concentrated very hard on his legs. He'd been practicing this for a while. Sending as much electrical energy as he could down to his lower body, he zapped his nerves that controlled his leg movement and quickly moved out of his old wheelchair into his new one. He got himself into the seat just in time. The signal wore off quickly, and he had to settle himself down comfortably into the seat using his gloved arms and hands. Reed sighed, exhausted from the effort. If he could keep enough energy in his legs to move them every day all the time, he would. But just short trips like this sapped all the energy out of him for hours. That was why he had to be in a wheelchair almost all the time.

Reed sighed again. It was only because he had joined Ivan that he was even able to build this wheelchair. And he couldn't lie to himself: life had been comfortable for him here. He was given his own room that tailored to his needs as a handicapped person. Everything in there was accessible to him, and he hardly ever needed help. Everything in the room was calibrated to his own electric signal, making things highly convenient. There were two downsides, though. One was quite obvious: he was in the house of the enemy. The other one was that his name had been changed by Ivan at their second meeting. It had been a week after Reed had gotten out of the medical wing. Ivan had told him that his name from now on would be "Tech". Reed had frozen when he heard this.

" _I know,"_ Ivan had said. _"A new name can be intimidating. However, I think you will eventually accept it."_

But that was not why Reed had suddenly been overcome with shock.

It was because back when they were agents for the Black Dragons, back when he still could find a reason to laugh, back when he did wrong things not because he had to but because he thought they were right, back only a year that felt like eons, Drew would sometimes call him that very same name.

* * *

 **(A/N) So, did that punch you in the gut? I decided to bring back an old detail of** _ **Neverender**_ **that was easily overlooked. We've been studying irony in literary interpretation class, so I really wanted to try it.**

 **Phew! Done! This is officially my sixth finished fanfiction! Before I came on FFN I never dreamed I would be able to finish a good story. But when I put myself in the proper mindset and realized I could do this, I went so far!**

 **Thank you so much to my awesome reviewers. Last chapter we had Kairocksrainbow, ebony umbreon, SnowflakeShard, and the Mayor of Ninjago City. Thank you all! And thanks to all the other wonderful people who also reviewed throughout the course of this fic!**

 **An extra special thank you goes to my most dedicated reviewers: ebony umbreon, Kairocksrainbow, and The Mayor of Ninjago City. You three have been with me this whole time!**

 **Another thank you goes to JayFan67, who watered my imagination when it was dry as a desert!**

 **Lastly, thanks to all the people who have already liked my Facebook page!**

 **I don't want to keep you all here forever, so I want to conclude with three things.**

 **1\. See my Facebook page for updates. It will be the place for you to follow me while I'm away writing the next book. I post pretty regularly, so visit often!**

 **2\. I have a poll up! PLEASE vote for your favorite Nightprowler! I MIGHT just give them their true potential first!**

 **3\. As always, review please!**


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